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Boston's Best Comedy Shows In Spring 2017

 By Mark McLaughlin, Speakeasy

Winters are dreary in Boston, and by late February and early March, Bostonians need a good laugh to get them through until Spring.  Even when the calendar says Spring has sprung, however, there is often snow and slush still around, and what better way to bring some warmth to the grey, cold Boston Spring than with a good stand-up routine, an improvisational comedy show or a performance by a comic legend.  Boston has all of that to offer in early 2017, and here are just five of Boston's Best Comedy Shows to see in and just before the start of Spring 2017.

Lamont price
Lamont Price. (Photo Credit: Nick's Comedy Stop)

Lamont Price
Nick's Comedy Stop
100 Warrenton St.
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 963-6261
www.nickscomedystop.com

Date: February 24 and 25 at 8 p.m.

Nick's Comedy Stop has been a key venue for both up-and-coming and fairly well-established standup comedians since 1977. Every weekend Nick's features a different performer, and as Winter begins to wind down and spring is at least in sight, Nick's will welcome Lamont Price to the stage. Price is "a hilarious oxymoron" as Nick's describes him.  A recurring entertainer at both New York and Boston's best comedy clubs and a top warm-up act for many a big-name entertainer, Price is headed for Hollywood where he will be featured in the new film, Overserved, a comedy about working in bar - and a Boston bar at that.

capitol steps
(Photo Credit: Capitol Steps)

The Capitol Steps
Cary Memorial Hall
1605 Massachusetts Ave.
Lexington, MA 02420
(617) 531-1257
www.caryhalllexington.com

Date: March 5 at 3 p.m.

The Capitol Steps have been making audiences laugh about senators, congressmen, presidents, supreme court justices and all other manner of Washington big-wigs for decades, and in March they will be doing so again before a Boston audience.  Their brand of satire, dark humor, puns and comedic songs routinely sells out the venue, and their hosts at Cary Memorial Hall in Lexington, just four miles outside of Boston on Massachusetts Avenue (Route 2), suggest buying tickets early.  The Capital Steps are unique in the world of comedy these days in that their material is meant for audiences of all ages (or at least teenagers and older who follow politics and the news).  The troupe is thus offering a Sunday matinee in March, hopefully as the last of the winter storms passes and Boston begins its pre-spring thaw.

Improv Boston
(Photo Credit: Improv Boston)

Harold Night
Improv Boston
40 Prospect St.
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 576-1523
www.haroldnight.com

Date: March 29 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

Improv Boston is a registered non-profit organization which sponsors new talent. Every Wednesday is "Harold Night" - which is not the name of an entertainer but of a weekly improvisational theater event where performers and the audience play off each other in putting on a pair of 25-minute "interconnected comedy shows." On stage also are performers who have completed the 301 level course at the Improv Boston Comedy School.

Related: Boston's Best Places To See Stand Up Live

Teaseday
The Teaseday Club
Davis Square Theatre
255 Elm St.
Somerville, MA 02144
(800) 838-3006
www.teaseday.com

Date: April 4, 2017 at 7:15 p.m.

"Magic, music, comedy and boobs" is what regular visitors to the Teaseday Club in Davis Square expect, and that is exactly what they will get - and more - on April 4, as "King Teaseday" presents a variety show that offers a mix of Burlesque, Vaudeville "and outlandish foolishness."  Guests are encouraged - but not required - to dress to the nines to more fully participate in the event and to help set the mood.  Tickets are a bargain at $15 (and a steal at $10, if purchased a week or more in advance).  Seating is limited (150 at most, and that includes space at the bar). The Teaseday Club presents new shows on the first Tuesday of every month, and the line up varies as new talent and crowd favorites sign on.

Wang Theater
(Photo Credit: Citi Performing Arts Center)

Carol Burnett
The Wang Theatre
27 Tremont St.
Boston, MA 02116
(800) 840-9227
www.bochcenter.org

Date: April 8, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.

The complete title of this one-woman show by one of the nation's first breakout female comedians is "Carol Burnett: An Evening of Laughter and Reflection Where the Audience Asks Questions."  That pretty much sums it up.  Ms. Burnett tells tales from the days when she hosted a weekly comedy series in the 1960s and 1970s (The Carol Burnett Show) as well as from her earlier days in television on The Gary Moore Show.  Although she has not been a regular on television for nearly 40 years, Ms. Burnett has never stopped working - or living - and her fan base spans the generations.

Related: Best Historic Theaters In Boston

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