NorfolkDailyNews.com
(Black PR Wire) -- Five more comedians have been added to the list of entertainers coming to Norfolk for this summer’s 11th annual Great American Comedy Festival — and two of them will be familiar names.
Comedians Erin Jackson — who finished second in the festival’s stand-up competition in its inaugural year in 2008 — and Tommy Ryman, who participated in the 2010 festival, both will be among the 10 comedians scheduled to perform either Friday, June 15, or Saturday, June 16, at the Johnny Carson Theatre.
They’ll be joined by Jeff Dye, Jc Currais and Grant Redmond as the final additions to the festival lineup.
The festival is Norfolk’s annual tribute to the legacy of Johnny Carson, who grew up in Norfolk and went on to host NBC’s “The Tonight Show” for 30 years. This year’s festival will open Thursday, June 14, with a comedy magic show. All shows at the Johnny Carson Theatre begin at 7 p.m.
he festival is presented by Nucor Vulcraft Nebraska, Cold Finish Nebraska, Nucor Steel Nebraska and Nucor Detailing Center. Lisa Wattier is festival chairperson.
Headlining the festival on Friday is Rich Little, while Joel McHale is the Saturday headliner.
Ryman and Redmond will be among five comedians joining Little on stage for Friday’s performance.
Ryman has been a semifinalist on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” He is a regular on Rooftop Comedy, Sirius XM and iheartradio. He has opened for Louie Anderson, among others. He is a favorite at top clubs and colleges across the country.
Redmond has performed stand-up comedy since he was 18 years old while also acting. He has numerous film credits and also has been featured in commercials for Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, Tostitos and the Texas Rangers. He lists stand-up, improv and sketch comedy performance and comedy writing as special skills.
Jackson, Dye and Currais are all scheduled to perform on the final night of the festival.
Jackson’s stand-up has been featured on TBS’ “Conan,” the syndicated “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham” and AXS-TV’s “Gotham Comedy Live.”
She was a 2014 semifinalist on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” and co-hosted three seasons of “Exhale,” a panel-talk series on the ASPiRE television network. She also has appeared on MSNBC, the NFL Network, truTV, VH-1 and TV Guide Network as a panelist on several sports and pop culture shows.
Dye is a nationally touring comedian, actor and host. He stars in NBC’s comedy adventure series, “Better Late than Never.” The project follows the travels of Henry Winkler, William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw and George Foreman. The second season of the show made its premiere in January.
He also has performed on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and finished third on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” He has had his own “Comedy Central Presents” special.
Currais has been featured on TBS’ “Conan,” NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” and Fox’s “Laughs.” He was a writer on Comedy Central’s “TripTank” and is one of the writers/stars of the online sitcom, “The Apartment.” He is also to be featured on Amazon’s new series, “Inside Joke.”
Wattier said she’s pleased that several of this summer’s performers have been part of the festival in the past.
“We consider their wishes to return to the Johnny Carson stage a great compliment,” she said. “That tells us that their first experience at the Great American Comedy Festival was a positive experience and they want to come back.”
Wattier said the comedy festival is no longer a competition as it was for the first nine installments. The comedians, plus the headliner, Friday and Saturday evening will perform their materials in a showcase-type event.
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