The Kirkland Performance Center is the longest-running venue partner of the Seattle Comedy Competition, going back to 1999, the year the theater opened. KPC is an intimate 400-seat space that is perfect for stand-up comedy, and the shows do turn-away business. The Competition Finals on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend is now part of the theater's season, along with our New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day comedy shows.
The audiences are red-hot. And this sold-out house was no exception
The brilliant David Crowe ("Crooked Finger," Showtime) hosted, warming things up almost instantaneously in the opening segment, after the intermission, and everywhere in between. And the Finalists kept it up, rocking it, baby, all night long.
As if that wasn't enough we were treated to a closing set by Emmy-winning comic Rick Overton, currently appearing as Pam's dad on "The Office."
And the results were completely different from the previous two night of finals, which means that these last two shows are critically important.
Continuing what has been emerging as a pattern, Paul Hooper went from 5th on Wednesday to 1st tonight; 2nd was Jose Sarduy, duplicating his second-place finish from Wednesday, but who also finished 5th on Tuesday. Travis Simmons, breaking the streak of opening comic finishing last, came in 3rd, to go with his 1st place and 4th place finishes; Sean Kent was 4th, after finishing 2 and 1 the first two night; Rodger Lizaola, always the most consistent, was 5th tonight, following 4th and 3rd place.
That's why we call it a contest.
"Behold the glory that stands before you."
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