The November edition of the Local Grins comedy roundup puts a spotlight on the healing power of comedy and a rundown of upcoming can’t-miss shows around the region.
Comedy, Laughter as Therapy: Matt Sharpe and “Standup Therapy Live” (Courtesy Photo)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Local Spins regularly rounds up area comedy news and upcoming shows with “Local Grins,” a spotlight on the region’s comedy scene compiled by writer and comedy maven Virginia Anzengruber.
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Email comments, questions and show additions virginia.anzengruber@gmail.com. View full comedy show listings across the region online here.
Standup Therapy Live Making Mental Health Funnier – Laughter has been known as the “best medicine” the world over for centuries. And practicing psychotherapist Matt Sharpe took that to heart when he began moonlighting as a stand-up comedian in 2024. The West Michigan-based comic has been taking his unique brand of professional laughter across the country, delighting audiences of civil servants, nonprofit professionals and first responders.
His website notes that Sharpe’s performances are framed “with over 20 years of experience. He merges powerful insights from psychology with the sharp timing of a seasoned comedian to deliver workshops that don’t just inform — they transform. Whether your team is battling burnout, workplace tension or just feeling the grind, Matt brings relief, renewal and resilience through laughter. It’s not fluff — it’s science, story and strategy, told in a way that sticks. Help your employees bounce back better. Book a workshop that changes the way your team thinks, feels and performs.”
Matt Sharpe (Courtesy Photo)
In addition to his booked corporate performances, Sharpe performs regularly at many of the comedy rooms in West Michigan, including Dr. Grins, and regularly hosts his own Clean Comedy Showcase events at The Community House in Norton Shores, featuring family-friendly entertainers like Fox 17’s meteorologist-turned-comedian Terri DeBoer. Most recently, Sharpe hosted the Comedy for a Cause event at Oakhill Church in Grand Rapids, which raised funds for Loving Kay Refij, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the children of Haiti. Previous events have supported Be Nice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to “promoting mental health awareness and preventing suicide through education because with knowledge comes the confidence to take action.”
As an ardent believer of not only mental health, but of spirituality, Sharpe, an ordained minister himself, recently self-published his own Christian-based comedy devotional called From My Throne to His, a book intentionally meant to be read on the toilet.
Sharpe explains: “That’s where we do some of our best and deepest thinking, of course, is when we’re having a… stirring of the spirit. And honestly, it’s a fun devotional that I [was inspired to make when] I Googled ‘the most awkward and uncomfortable Bible passages in existence,’ and then wrote an intentional devotion about each one. Saying ‘let’s have fun with it, let’s explore it, and let’s look at the hard stuff square in the face and see if we can find some truth and some joy in there.’”
Clearly comfortable with the intersections in which comedy injects into our lives, Sharpe continues to push to new audiences, with his work bringing him to more states, venues, and clubs across the country. To learn more about Matt Sharpe, to see where he’s performing next in West Michigan, and to book him for your next event, visit https://standuptherapy.live/.
Big Name Comedy Comes to Grand Rapids – While Grand Rapids has had a thriving local comedy scene for decades, it’s also becoming a hub for major mainstream comedians to stop on their national tours. Fans of musical comedy, “Comedy Central” and TikTok can rejoice. The variety of comedians gracing West Michigan is a testament to the beautiful subjectivity of what makes us all laugh. As I’ve been mentioning, go find your people and be in comedy community with them – even if that community is happening in a giant amphitheater. Below is a non-comprehensive listing of bigger names you might know touring through West Michigan in the coming months. Some, if not all, have tickets on sale now. Click on the links for ticket info.
● November 29, 2025: Demetri Martin at GLC Live at 20 Monroe
● December 6, 2025: Tom Papa at GLC Live at 20 Monroe
● January 16, 2026: Brian Regan at GLC Live at 20 Monroe
● February 12, 2026: Matteo Lane at DeVos Performance Hall
● February 27, 2026: An Evening with Jim O’Heir at Wealthy Theatre
● March 11-15, 2026: Laughfest returns to Grand Rapids
● April 4, 2026: Daniel Tosh at DeVos Performance Hall
● April 11, 2026: Stavros Halkias at GLC Live at 20 Monroe
● April 17, 2026: Kathleen Madigan at GLC Live at 20 Monroe
● July 3, 2026: Weird Al Yankovic at Acrisure Amphitheater
THANKSGIVING WEEK COMEDY IN GR – The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday can often present a challenge: What should we do with relatives who are in town for the weekend? That answer is simple: Go to a comedy show. From the biggest bar night of the year through the holiday weekend, here’s a highlight of where you can find the laughs this Turkey Day.
• Family High 420-Friendly Comedy Show at The Philmore (10 p.m. Nov. 29) – New World Comedy returns with their monthly 420-friendly show at The Philmore, located at 4318 S. Division Avenue in Grand Rapids. This event features vendors, artists, giveaways food for purchase and some of the funniest comedians in West Michigan. Tickets are $25 or 2 for $40 and available now.
• Dr. Grins Comedy Club Local Showcase (8 p.m. Nov. 26, 28, 29) – From the Dr. Grins website: “Check out what the Grand Rapids comedy scene has to offer. Nov. 26 features James River, Matt Cook, Joe Elder, Ken Witzgall and Virginia Anzengruber. Nov. 28 features Tre Allen, Brian Atkinson, Simon Carlson, Patty Rooney and Peter Sillanpaa. Nov. 29 features Alfons Mueller, Nardos Osterhart, Alexa Stanton, Brandon Cooley and Marcus Cusic.”
• Comedy Night at Dinks and Dingers (8 p.m. Nov. 29) – A night filled with hilarious stand-up comedy performances by talented comedians.
• Comedy at The Comedy Project (Various times Nov. 28 and 29) – Local Grins sponsor and hub for all things funny in Grand Rapids, The Comedy Project is a comedy and cocktails theater near downtown Grand Rapids that features improv, sketch and comedy variety shows, a comedy training center, private event hosting and more. This Thanksgiving weekend, they’re hosting a number of shows for the entire family.
• The Triple Play Comedy Show (7 p.m. Nov. 28) – This is a 75-minute, three-pack-punch of some of the best improv comedy around. Tickets, $17, available now.
• Battle Bots Improv Comedy Show (9 p.m. Nov. 28) – A 75-minute, fast-paced, high-energy improv comedy show featuring the humans of our professional A.I. comedy cast. For fans of “Whose Line Is It Anyway” and “Comedysportz” (and “fans of not having fun will hate this show”). Tickets, $17, available now.
• SQUEAKY CLEAN Battle Bots Improv Comedy Show (7 p.m. Nov. 29) – “A ‘Squeaky Clean’ version of one of the above. Tickets, $17 for adults, $12 for children, available now.
• Midnight Society: Creepy Improv Comedy (9 p.m. Nov. 29) – “Campfire stories have never been more funny and terrifying,” organizers contend. “This comedy creepfest takes the nostalgia of the TV show ‘Are You Afraid Of The Dark?’ and delivers a spooky, funny, improv comedy show like no other.” Tickets, $17, available now.
• Late Night Comedy Lab (10:30 p.m. Nov. 29) – The 25-seat micro-theater features a 45-minute show with improv and sketch groups as well as guest spots from members of TCP’s Mainstage cast. Tickets, $7, available now.
Alastair Watt: Small Town City Boy Comedy Tour Comes to Wealthy Theatre – On Dec. 19, comedian Alastair Watt (founder of A La Carte Comedy) is bringing his unique brand of humor to the Wealthy Theatre. “The Small Town City Boy Comedy Tour” unfurls at Wealthy Theatre for a night of sharp, personal and laugh-out-loud stand-up. A master storyteller raised on slap bracelets and VHS tapes, Alastair tackles parenting, grief, small-town weirdness and modern chaos with uncomfortable honesty and relatable charm. Hosted by Katrina McEntee with guest Jen Frissina, featuring Brittany Devon and Darius Walker. Tickets start at $20 and are available now via the Wealthy Theatre’s website.
Local Grins is assembled by writer and comedy devotee Virginia Anzengruber. Email comments, questions and show additions to virginia.anzengruber@gmail.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
The Comedy Project – The Comedy Project (TCP) is a comedy theater and moonshine bar in Grand Rapids’ vibrant Westside Business District, Joe Anderson and Kristin Kendall helm TCP and foster an incredible community of comedic performers and writers right here in West Michigan. Anderson, a veteran of improvisational theater training, created The Comedy Project’s Training Center Program, which “provides training in Improvisation, Sketch Comedy and Stand-Up Comedy.” They host private events, and their slate of weekly sketch and improv comedy shows can be found at https://thecomedyproject.com/shows/.
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