The next best thing to a week in a tropical isle to help get you over this last winter hurdle might just be a sumptuous meal and an evening of comedy in a cozy dining room turned comedy club. Luckily you don’t have to travel any further than Lambert’s Cove to enjoy such a treat. The Lambert’s Cove Inn is continuing its popular Dinner and a Show series this Saturday with a trio of professional comedians from off-Island.
Inn manager Mike Rego notes that the series has been a success. Last month he had to turn away a few people who had hoped to see a sold-out show with a Boston area magician. Mr. Rego notes that he already has a good number of reservations for this weekend’s entertainment.
Mr. Rego’s background in event planning inspired him to try bringing entertainment to the inn as a winter diversion for locals. The first two shows featured a hypnotist and a magician, both of whom include comedy in their performances. Mr. Rego notes, “Everybody loves to laugh. The vibe that we have on these nights is a lot more laid-back and there’s an energy in the air. I think a comedian night is going to be really well received.”
Mr. Rego, with help from Lambert’s Cove Inn chef Joe daSilva, picked this week’s three featured performers from a field of over 100 available through a booking agency called the New York Hysterical Society.
“We picked these three because their press packets were really, really funny,” Mr. Rego says. He and Mr. daSilva were able to watch video clips and the inn manager says, “We think they’re going to be a good fit for the night. People who are genuinely funny and don’t rely on vulgarity. We want to keep it a family kind of thing.”
PG rating aside, the comedians will appeal to a mature, informed audience. All three are young, smart, and savvy comics who appear regularly in comedy clubs. They draw both from current events and the shared human experience, though each has their own styles and backgrounds.
Shaun Bedgood was featured in a Boston Globe article entitled, “Young, Fresh and Funny.” He looks at the world with a laid-back cool and delivers his observations with a good dose of sarcasm and a street-tinged style.
Langston Kerman, of Chicago, is a poet as well as a comedian, who is currently working towards an MFA in poetry. Although he is somewhat soft-spoken and his delivery hints at his years of performing at poetry slams, he hardly takes himself seriously in his stand up, and his humor often plays off setting the audience up with his seeming sensitivity and then delivering the unexpected punch.
Comedian Erik Levi performs regularly at the Boston Comedy Studio in Cambridge and other comedy clubs in and around Boston. He says that he caters his show to his audience and tries to make his material relatable.
“I never do the same show twice,” he says. Mr. Levi says that he visited the Island briefly last year and the primary thing that he took away from the visit was a resolution to watch “Jaws.” The young comic has a day job working in health care and he notes, “I work during the week so I like to approach weekend shows with the idea that people are coming to laugh, so I want to give them something to laugh at.”
Mr. Rego has been test-driving the events with the hopes that Vineyard audiences will be receptive enough to justify bringing shows for the next few months. Since the gamble has paid off so far, he has slotted a spot for an April show with entertainment to be determined. He hopes to continue the series into May as well.
Dinner and a Show, 6–10 pm, Saturday, March 19, Lambert’s Cove Inn, West Tisbury. 3-course meal precedes comedy show. $65+ tax, corkage, gratuity. lambertscoveinn.com; 508-693-2298.
Gwyn McAllister, of Oak Bluffs, is a frequent contributor to The Times.
