Ken Jeong Gala – July 26, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier

Actor, producer, writer, and former licensed physician Ken Jeong, known for his scene stealing abilities, has established himself as one of today’s top comedic stars. Best known for his appearance as the Asian-mobster “Mr. Chow” in the hilarious comedy The Hangover, which earned him 3 Teen Choice Nominations and an MTV Movie Award.

Jeong was mostly recently seen starring on ABC’s Dr. Ken, which he also created, wrote for and was an Executive Producer. He also was a series regular on the critically acclaimed NBC show Community from 2009-2015. In 2015, Jeong directed an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Student Athlete and he also produced the Sundance award winning film Advantageous, which received a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination.

Jeong’s career path started off on a different course. He earned his undergraduate degree at Duke University and went on to get his medical degree at the University of North Carolina. Jeong completed his Internal Medicine residency in New Orleans all the while developing his comedy. He began performing regularly at the Improv and Laugh Factory, and was seen on a number of television shows including The Office, Entourage, and MADtv. It wasn’t until he caught Judd Apatow’s eye, who cast him as “Dr. Kuni” in Knocked Up, which solidified himself as a feature film actor.

Breuer came to national attention during his seasons on Saturday Night Live (1995-98), a rebuilding era whose cast featured Will Ferrell, David Spade and Norm McDonald. Some even still associate him with Half Baked, a stoner comedy flick from around that time that starred Dave Chappelle and featured cameos by Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and Tommy Chong.

The fans who got into Breuer in the new millennium were drawn into his whirlwind journey through his Comedy Central specials such as Hardcore (2002) and Let’s Clear The Air (2009), one of the highest rated comedy specials in the network’s history – popularly known as his “coming out party” as a dad, cleaning up his act and focusing on the fun and foibles of family life. His next special And Laughter For All (2013), became the highest rated original comedy special on EPIX to date, earning it’s spot as a family favorite for its relatable and multi-generational humor. His latest special Comic Frenzy (2015) is currently available on Amazon Prime.

Over the years, Breuer has been something of a multi-media sensation currently appearing alongside Kevin James on Kevin Can Wait on CBS as well as popular films Zookeeper, Dick, Titan A.E. and Beer League; hosting MTV’s popular Beach House and VH1’s Web Junk 20; and being featured on Comedy Jam, This Is Not Happening, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and The Marriage Ref.

Orny Adams delivers a powerful, incisive stand-up routine that vacillates between the relevant and the absurd. Orny attacks what’s wrong with the world and sometimes even what’s wrong with Orny. He’s brutally honest, satirical and his performance is ceaselessly energetic.

Orny has had one hour stand up specials on Netflix, Comedy Central and his third special More Than Loud is airing now on Showtime. Orny has appeared all over television, most notably on The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman and The Conan O’Brien Show. And you might also recognize him as Coach from the TV show Teen Wolf which ran for six seasons.

Sara Pascoe is a multi-award winning stand-up comedian, writer and actor. Over the last year alone, Sara has starred on Let’s Sing and Dance for Comic Relief (making it to the Final); adapted Pride and Prejudice for the Nottingham Playhouse/York Theatre Royal; filmed a solo stand up special for TV: Sara Pascoe Live from the BBC; hosted an episode of Live at the Apollo, and appeared as a weekly guest on Frankie Boyle’s New World Order. Sara has also been seen on television shows ranging from Have I Got News For You, QI, Travel Man and filmed and co-stared in the most recent WIA series. Following the enormous success of her debut book, Animal, Sara is presently writing her second book, Sex Power Money. Sara’s BBC Radio 4 series, The Modern Monkey aired to great acclaim and she is presently developing an authored special for the BBC.

Sara also sold out her entire run at the Edinburgh Festival (before the Festival even started) with her critically feted show, LadsLadsLads and followed this with a sold out week at the Wyndhams Theatre in London’s West End.

Jess Salomon is a Canadian comedian who recently made the move to New York with her Muslim wife because she has excellent comedic timing. She’s done cool festivals in America like the Laughing Skull Festival, San Francisco Sketch Fest, and the Boston Comedy Festival. In Canada she’s been in Just For Laugh’s OffJFL, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and the Odd Block Comedy Festival as well as on CBC’s The Debaters. Her stand up has been on CBC Television and can be heard on SiriusXM and CBC’s LOL.

Fun fact: before comedy Jess used to be a U.N. war crimes lawyer. The jury is still out on whether this was a good move.

 

Francisco Ramos recently shot an HBO stand-up special Entre Nos that will air summer 2018. Most recently, he was a top-ten finalist on Last Comic Standing 2015 and continues to flourish as an actor and voice-over artist in addition to touring as a stand-up comic across North America. He has appeared in Showtime’s Shameless, Angie Tribeca from executive producer Steve Carell, Netflix’s Lady Dynamite, and voicing the role of Marmoset in the animation film RIO with Anne Hathaway and Jesse Eisenberg. He has also appeared on the hilarious @midnight on Comedy Central and on Jimmy Kimmel Live on numerous occasions.

Early in his career, Francisco was selected to perform in the CBS Multicultural Diversity Showcase, where he was one of 12 selected from a pool of 5,000 applicants. Having won first place in the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival sponsored by NBC/COZI TV, American Latino produced a documentary on Francisco on his rise as a comic for Latino Out Loud (LOL).

With a flourishing career as a stand-up comedian, actor, and writer, Francisco is quickly becoming one of the best comics in the industry. Francisco’s debut comedic album Vayalo has been exclusively playing on Sirius XM and has been a top 5 album on the Billboard Comedy Charts.

Amir K has been entertaining audiences for nearly 10 years, performing live across the U.S. and on television. His fun, unique approach to storytelling brings audiences together through his improvisational talent, characters and charisma. Born in Iran and raised in Southern California, Amir offers a unique point of view shaped by his multi-cultural upbringing.

Amir currently stars in the primetime CW reboot of MADtv and has been seen on Comedy Central, NBC’s Last Comic Standing and MTV’s Jerks with Cameras. Amir is best known for his stand-up comedy, but is also an accomplished actor. He won a SAG award for his role in the Oscar winning film Argo and recently starred in The FOX feature film The Pyramid opposite Denis O’Hare and Ashley Grace.  Amir can be seen live headlining comedy clubs and theaters all over the U.S. as well as internationally.

Matt Wright is an award winning stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and director. He has performed at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, Halifax Comedy Festival, Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and has headlined comedy clubs from St. John’s to Vancouver.

Matt was named as a national finalist at the Just For Laughs Homegrown Comics competition, a national semi-finalist in the Sirius XM Canada’s Top Comic competition, and was named “Best Comedian” by the Overcast Magazine 2014 and 2015.

Matt is currently a writer on This Hour Has 22 Minutes and has appeared on The Debaters. His album Vasectomy Baby went to #2 on the iTunes Canadian Comedy charts and can be heard frequently on SiriusXM.

Also an accomplished actor/director, Matt’s short film Wife and Death was an official selection at multiple film festivals and earned him the “Best Emerging Filmmaker” award at the 2016 Nickel Film Festival.

For tickets and information: www.hahaha.com   514-845-2322

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Just For Laughs

The 36^th edition of the Just For Laughs Festival promises to be the most star-studded lineup ever with TV and cinema’s biggest comedy names, top touring comedians, cult-favourites and up-and-comers all converging on Montreal this summer. Galas, street performers, theatrical productions and stand-up shows in indoor venues and in the streets. Guaranteed to keep audiences in stitches.

Check out the full festival line-up at www.hahaha.com