Nobodies of Comedy heads to Vermont

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on January 14th, 2005

We perused the program while waiting for the show at the State Theatre back in November (the show that featured Shelley Berman, Mort Sahl, et al) and noticed an upcoming show called “The Nobodies of Comedy.” We eventually learned that it’s a show that is regularly pitched to theaters and subscription programs (like Easton’s State Theatre program) all over the country featuring professional standup comics, usually five, who are competent, experienced but not exactly household names.

Today’s Rutland (Vermont) Herald has a story about one Nobodies combination featuring Andy Campbell, Jon Fisch, Alex House, Jamie Lissow and Eric Lyden. Apparently, comedy sells well among the subscribers and regular attendees in such small- and medium-town theatre programs.

Comedy and music — those are the two crowd favorites in surveys and in ticket sales, Ron Naples, the Paramount’s executive director, said.

So with the help of a group of local organizations, a comedy festival is being organized for the end of June that will almost literally be a three-ring circus of entertainment.

The culmination will be at the Paramount on June 24 and 25.

Fancy that. Tiny Rutland is having a comedy festival. This year’s fest will feature, among others, Pasquale Caputo, alias Pat Cooper.