The August Local Grins boasts an interview with touring comedian Mohanad Elshieky and the lowdown on Laughter on the Lakeshore, Alastair Watt’s Michigan tour, updated show listings and more.
Mohanad Elshieky: Bringing his tour to The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids on Sunday. (Courtesy Photo)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Once a month, Local Spins rounds up area comedy news with “Local Grins,” a spotlight on the region’s comedy scene compiled by writer and comedy maven Virginia Anzengruber.
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
Email comments, questions and show additions to virginia.anzengruber@gmail.com. View full comedy show listings across the region online here.
MOHANAD ELSHIEKY BRINGS TOUR TO GR ON SUNDAY
Mohanad Elshieky has gotten nearly every kind of laugh. The New York stand-up comedian, current writer for “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” and former writer for “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” Elshieky understands how to write for someone else’s voice as well as his own.
“The thing about these (TV) shows is that [the jokes] are never evergreen. It has to work now, it has to work tomorrow, and that’s it. It’s a very quick turnout, a lot of volume, versus doing standup: This has to be my voice, first of all. Plus, it has to be evergreen. If I do this joke in July, it has to work in December. It has to work sometime next year, or however long the tour is.”
That tour comes to The Pyramid Scheme on Sunday (Aug. 3). Doors open at 7 p.m., with $25 tickets available online here. Local comedians Devarron Thomas and Virginia Anzengruber (Local Grins writer) will open the show.
Mohanad Elshieky (Courtesy Photo)
“I think my favorite thing about standup is how many times you can do a joke and make it different every time,” Elshieky says. “It’s a bit of a challenge, but also, I’d say my favorite thing, honestly, especially compared to working for other shows, is the instant feedback. I don’t have to wait. I don’t have to hope that this would hit or not. I also have a lot of opportunities to work on the joke if it doesn’t work. So, it’s always a work in progress.”
A former Portland comedy scene staple, Elshieky made his national TV debut on “Conan,” and has gone on to perform for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Comedy Central” and “Don’t Tell Comedy” and is known for his “deceptively laid-back demeanor and whip-smart perspective on politics and culture.”
Now over a decade into his stage career, he shared such tangible insights during his nearly 30-minute conversation with Local Grins. And in a culture rife with TikTok comedy that fits neatly into 15 and 60-second clips, it was refreshing to hear a relevant piece of advice for comedians.
“My biggest advice to give to people is: sure, write and work on new material, but just focus on making the jokes you have now much better. Just keep working on them. Even if they’re getting laughs. Even if you think this joke is perfect. Just keep changing it. You have time. Why not? Just make it even funnier.”
“We go to concerts and we know the songs word for word. It’s the experience of seeing it live. That’s why I say it’s fun to change up a lot of it. I have friends who have been seeing me do comedy since I started like 10 years ago. Sometimes they’d see me do an old joke and say they love how much it’s changed since you’ve been telling it. The joke never reaches its final form.”
Laughter on the Lakeshore Comedy Festival Returns – Get ready to giggle, chuckle and belly-laugh: RJN Comedy returns with the second annual Laughter On The Lakeshore Comedy Festival, taking place in Muskegon Aug. 29-30. Tickets, venues, and comedian lineup information can be found on Facebook and at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laughter-on-the-lakeshore-comedy-festival-tickets-1371312375229.
Alastair Watt’s “Pure Michigan” Tour – Alastair Watt (of “A la carte Comedy”) is taking his “Small Town City Boy Tour” to several Michigan cities: Sept. 12 at Broadway Theater in Mount Pleasant, Sept. 26 at The Acorn in Three Oaks, Nov. 14 at The Griswold Auditorium in Allegan and finally, Dec. 19 at Grand Rapids’ historic Wealthy Theatre for evenings 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, the Grand Rapids show features support by local comedians Jen Frissina, Brittany Devon and Darius Walker. Doors for the show open at 7 p.m. with the show starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are available online here and start at $20. More information at https://grcmc.org/event/small-town-city-boy-comedy-tour/970. (Watt also is part of the Pajama Party Edition of Founders Brewing’s “Dirty Bastard Comedy Hour” on Aug. 23.)
Adam Degi is Shooting a Comedy Special – Grand Rapids stand up comedy staple and co-host of “Don’t Tell Grand Rapids,” Adam Degi is shooting his first comedy special on Nov. 14 at The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids. Tickets are available via Ticketweb here and audiences have two chances to catch Degi, with shows at 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. that evening.
A Local Grins Comedy Roundup Refresh – West Michigan comedy fans rejoice. The summer may be slow for shows, but we’ve got a Comedy Roundup refresh for you at Local Spins here. Find the latest local, regional and hilarious Michigan comedy happening near you. From standup to sketch to improv, from free shows to national headliners, Local Grins is your No. 1 source for comedy in West Michigan. Check out the Local Grins Comedy Roundup.
Upcoming National Comedians in Grand Rapids
● August 14: Rainn Wilson (at DeVos Performance Hall)
● September 6: Steve Martin and Martin Short (at DeVos Performance Hall)
● September 19: John Crist (at DeVos Performance Hall)
● September 25: Samantha Bee: How to Survive Menopause (at Wealthy Theatre)
Comedy as Rapid Community: A New Ethos for Local Grins – Nearly three minutes into a recent interview with comedian Reggie Watts on “The Daily Show,” Jordan Klepper asks Watts a question that I’ve been asking myself over the last few months as a standup comedian: “We live in strange times right now and I feel like the audiences are shifting somewhat. They seem like they want different things right now. Have you noticed that?”
Watts then goes on to articulate not only what I, and many of my comedic colleagues have been feeling recently, but also what I’d like to use as the thesis for the Local Grins column, events, and imprint going forward: Comedy can be a form of rapid community. Specifically what Watts says is:
“In the past, my shows were always goofy, abstract, you know, strange. But, now I have these moments of sincerity, that, you know, took me a while to get comfortable with. But, I think in these times, comedy is really – and especially absurdity – comedy in general, but absurdity especially is so important for our minds. Because otherwise we just pile on this dread factor… and comedy zooms you out and gives you context. The fact that we’re in this amazing world, this life that we’re living. We’re conscious beings. We can be helpful to one another. We can be loving to one other. We can overcome our fears. All of these things. So, giving us context by doing something really f—ing stupid feels good to me because you can feel the audience just [exhale]. Because I need it. We all need it. Because that’s the reality. The majority of the reality is that. The dread is crucial. It’s happening. It’s affecting a lot of people. But, mostly life is enjoying life and being a part of your journey of self-understanding.”
Watch the full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0wlxjLQvCA
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/.
Copyright 2025, Spins on Music LLC
