“Start your weekend with a smile” is the marquee headline for what may turn out to be quite a comedy romp - and a guaranteed weekend grin - at Ehrhardt’s Waterfront Resort on Friday.
The show features three comedians that have spent many a night on the stage: “Soul” Joel Richardson, a Jersey native and the show’s producer; Mad Dog Mattern, of Las Vegas and satellite-radio fame; and Yannis Pappas, Brooklyn born and raised with Comedy Central on his resume.
“I’m making the American Dream happen for myself,” said Joel Richardson, 29, of his comedy troupe which has been making its rounds throughout the tri-state region. “And as a producer, I just want people to have fun.”
The Hoboken comic formed “Soul Joel Productions” in 2007, bringing together a laugh machine that has included 175 comedians over the years. Some of them have done stints on Saturday Night Live, Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime, MTV, and Sirius Satellite Radio.
“These are pretty much two of my main guys,” said Richardson, of Friday’s comedians who have recently hit venues as a trio in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
“We just have a good chemistry.” As for the audience: “You’re getting a mixture of different kinds of comedy.”
Yannis Pappas, 33, is more in the storyteller vein - peppered with references to his Greek roots. Mad Dog Mattern, 30, “likes to bust it all open ... he breaks down all the barriers.
“He basically sets the table for Yannis and myself,” he said.
As for Soul Joel, he shares the true tales of his life and family.
“I’m never afraid to go in a different direction” on the spot, he said. “Nobody wants to hear a joke you’ve done a thousand times.”
Doors open at 8 p.m.; the show starts at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door. For reservations, call (570) 226-7355. Ehrhardt’s Waterfront Resort is located off Route 507 Lake Wallenpaupack in Palmyra Township, Pike County - just south of Hawley.
Palmyra Township (P), Pa. —
