Scamps uses a diverse and deep group of comedians from all over New England. We list some of our favorites here, but are always working with new and established acts from all around the northeast.
Lenny Clarke was working on a sitcom with Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) when the writer’s strike hit in spring 2023. He’s known nationally for his TV roles in Denis Leary’s Rescue Me and The Job, as well as The John Larrouquette Show. In Boston, he’s known as one of the first Boston comedy stars to hit it big, and returns to his hometown to play concerts such as Comics Come Home, make frequent appearances on Red Sox broadcasts, and appear at major fundraising events. Clarke starred in his own short-lived network sitcom Lenny, and in such TV shows as Contest Searchlight and It’s All Relative and movies like Halloween Kills, Monument Ave., Fever Pitch and Southie. He’s done comedy on HBO showcases, late night TV, and remains a fixture on such shows as Jimmy Kimmel Live.
With his trademark long hair, backwards baseball cap, and 643,000 TikTok followers, Jimmy Cash is a breakout star in the Boston comedy scene. Cash pulls material from his two decades as a public school janitor, his experience as a father of a teenage daughter, an uncertain amount of stepchildren, and sobriety with hilarious results. He can be seen working at clubs and theaters around New England, as well as in “The Bostonians” series of commercials for Plymouth Rock Insurance.
Comedian Paul D’Angelo is a former assistant district attorney and criminal-defense trial lawyer who has been headlining A-List comedy clubs around the country for over 35 years. He has performed at many famed entertainment venues, ranging from the legendary Friar’s Clubs and the Waldorf Astoria’s main ballroom in New York City, to the main showroom at Harrah’s Casino and Caesar’s Palace; has entertained hundreds of prominent corporate clients such as Ford Motor Company, Sony Music Corp., the American Bar Association, and more; and has opened for international stars such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, The Beach Boys, Chicago, The Doobie Brothers, Tony Bennett and Tom Jones. He co-starred in Showtimes’ The Godfathers of Comedy and is the author of six hilarious books that have won numerous literary awards.
Chris D. – Chris Dimitrakopoulos — has been a standout at The Hampton Beach Comedy Festival, The Beantown Comedy Riots, The Boston Comedy Festival, and The Burbank Comedy Festival in Los Angeles. In addition to regularly opening for national headliners like Juston McKinney and Lenny Clarke, Chris once held the prestigious title of “Comic in Residence” at the famous Comedy Studio in Cambridge. He was chosen by Showtime producers to be the East Coast warm-up comic for the special Rob Gronkowski’s Unsportsmanlike Comedy. He also popped up in a hilarious altercation on the popular A&E program Live PD.
Man-mountain Dan Donahue works in theaters around New England as the opener for Juston McKinney, and he’s also shared the stage with Boston headliners such as Jimmy Dunn, Mike McDonald, Christine Hurley, Mike Donovan, Paul Nardizzi and Dave Rattigan. He was selected for the prestigious Hampton Beach Comedy Festival in 2022, and recently acted in his first film, the horror-comedy short Mars Hill Bait & Tackle.
Mike Donovan has long been one of the most creative and funniest headliners in the country. The South Boston native works the top clubs in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and has been featured on The NESN Comedy All-Stars, ESPN’s SportsCenter, Fox’s Best Damn Sports Show Period, and the Showtime network. He was featured in the documentary When Standup Stood Out. He’s also authored a series of American history books, available at Amazon.com and at the show.
Stephen Donovan is a comedic triple threat, on stages, radio and television. For years he was a weekday morning fixture on Lite Rock 105 and other stations, while spending his nights entertaining audiences at top comedy clubs, restaurants and theaters around New England. The multi-talented Donovan has acted in the iconic play Shear Madness and several regional television commercials, and been a host of shows such as NESN’s The Batter’s Box and WBZ’s Community Auditions. He released a standup DVD, One Night in Shirley. He is proud to have been recognized by the Susan G. Komen Foundation for his ongoing fundraising efforts in the fight against breast cancer.
Bill Douglas is a middle school science teacher by day. At night he’s still a middle school science teacher, but also travels around New England performing comedy and was a 2023 selection for the Edinburgh (Scotland) Fringe Festival, the largest comedy festival in the world. In addition, he’s performed at clubs in the Midwest and San Francisco. He has shared the stage with headliners such as Jimmy Dunn, Paul Nardizzi, Carolyn Plummer, and Paul D’Angelo.
Jimmy Dunn is one of Boston’s best comedians, headlining in theaters and clubs around New England, and appearing nationally as a writer, stand-up, and sitcom actor. He was a featured cast member on CBS’ The McCarthys (as the twin brother of Joey McIntyre), and a writer for Loudermilk. Nationally, he has a stand-up comedy special on Amazon Prime called Two Boston Guys with fellow comedian Tony V., and the two also co-host a popular podcast called Two Boston Guys Whack up a Pie. Dunn has also done stand-up comedy on Conan and Letterman in addition to countless appearances in various roles on NESN, and roles on Judd Apatow’s Love on Netflix. He is a former “Best Comedian in New Hampshire” selection for New Hampshire Magazine and frequent radio guest on Greg & The Morning Buzz.
Paul Gilligan is one of the most requested headliners in Boston, bringing down the house with an attitude developed as a high school class clown in Malden, and with material culled from his life as a licensed electrician, husband and father living in a North Shore suburb. In addition to working Boston clubs, golf tournaments, fundraisers, roasts, and other events, Gilligan is a regular performer at the Riviera Casino in Las Vegas. He’s appeared in Boston on Dirty Water TV. He is often requested to work for trade association groups, including as MC at the Boston Construction Awards.
Rafi Gonzalez is a stand-up comedian from Puerto Rico known for his conversational style and material that centers around his experiences with American culture. Originally finding success as the lead singer of a nationally touring rock band, Gonzalez switched gears in 2015 and exploded onto the New England and Boston comedy scenes. There has been no looking back. After years of performances, Rafi has developed a strong regional following in the New England area and the east coast. From headlining major comedy clubs, to having millions of views on social media, Rafi will do anything and everything to bring laughter to the masses. In 2021, he was filmed in San Antonio for HBO MAX as part of the Ha Comedy Festival. He opens regularly around the country for actor/comedian Michael Rapaport, as well as comedian/author Phoebe Robinson.
Andrea Henry has appeared on Nickelodeon’s Search for America’s Funniest Mom, Last Comic Standing and The Great Canadian Laugh Off, and has participated in Comedy fests across the country: Limestone, Maine, Boston, Women in Comedy, Chicago Woman’s Funny Festival, Rogue Island and Memphis Urban Laughs. She writes joke for Us Weekly Magazine’s Fashion Police and is the co-author of Real Kids Jokes by Real Stand-Up Comics. She has also produced and starred in a funny documentary film about entering and losing the Mrs. Massachusetts Beauty Pageant.
Christine Hurley loves what she does…making people laugh! Married to Jimmy Hurley and having five kids, Christine is never at a loss for comedic material. For years, she entertained family, friends and neighbors in their kitchens, at barbeques and the grocery store aisles. But since her debut on Nick at Nite’s America’s Funniest Mom, where she was a finalist despite having no stand-up experience, she has taken her act from the backyard to stages all over New England. She works top comedy clubs, theaters, and other venues, including the Boston Garden for Denis Leary’s Comics Come Home.
Mike Karsok is a young Boston based comic making an impression on the scene. Legally blind, his comedy is a blend of observations along with his unique perspective on life. He has performed at The Mass Arts Center, Cotuit Center for the Arts, Murphy’s Taproom, The Comedy Studio and The Cabot Theater. He has shared the stage with Paul Nardizzi, Kelly MacFarland, and Dave Rattigan.
Jeff Koen’s family was on America’s Funniest Home Videos and won $10,000. Can anything be more glamorous than that? Koen often works the clubs and theaters of New England with Juston McKinney, and is in constant demand as an actor on independent film projects. He’s known for his portrayal of one of the characters in the on-line cartoon Man Servants, and for playing the offensive “Uncle Rick” in the 2010 cult film Heavy Times, which gained him fans from all of the world, though not very many in any one country. “A guy from Sri Lanka wanted to visit me and stay at my house,” he said. “All he needed me to do was write a letter to the prime minister.”
Dave Lamb has been performing stand-up comedy in and around Boston for years, with some of the area’s best and up-and-coming acts. During his time in comedy Dave has performed in clubs, bars, casinos, restaurants, and rec centers, but can most often be seen headlining a classroom every weekday at an area public school, where he learned how to deal with hecklers. Dave’s full-time career as a teacher provides him with an excellent source of material, as if his wife, family, and friends aren’t enough already.
Take a seat and put your drink in a location where you’re less likely to knock it over, because as soon as Corey Manning descends upon the stage Its on!!! If there is no energy in the room, he brings it. If there is energy in the room, Corey absorbs it and takes it to another level. Fresh off his performance in Tracy Morgans Picking Up The Pieces Tour, Corey was featured on Nick Jr.s Mom Night Out Comedy Showcase, appeared on NBCs Family Feud with Steve Harvey and Jamie Foxxs Laughapaloozas New Faces In Comedy. He known for his slick, upbeat, funny, over-the-top comedy.
Kelly McFarland has an extensive and well-rounded resume including comedy clubs, theaters, colleges, festivals, television appearances and entertaining US troops overseas. She was first runner up in the Boston Comedy Festival and voted Best of the Fest at the Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival. McFarland has two albums available on iTunes, Amazon and SiriusXM radio. She has performed at the Oddball Comedy Festival, the Comedy Stage at Boston Calling Music Festival, Lucille Ball Comedy Festival – National Comedy Center and has been a featured headliner for the Boston Women in Comedy Festival since inception. She has also appeared on Stand Up in Stilettos on the TV Guide Channel, The Today Show, The View, Comedy Central, NBC’s Last Comic Standing and AXS Gotham Comedy LIVE. Kelly won 1st place in the professional category of the 2016 Ladies of Laughter. She was part of the amazing line up of Comics Come Home in 2019.
Juston McKinney is a national headliner who performs at theaters around New England such as the Portsmouth Music Hall and Capital Center for the Arts. His comedy specials include Parentally Challenged on Prime Video. Other TV standup appearances include Showtime’s Unsportsmanlike Conduct with Rob Gronkowski, three appearances on The Tonight Show, two Comedy Central specials, and Parentally Challenged on Prime Video. He was chosen to be part of the BlueCollar Comedy “Next Generation” tour with Bill Engval, which included a TV show and live shows across the country. Other credits include The King of Queens, the Sidney Lumet drama 100 Centre Street, The Zoo Keeper and Here Comes the Boom.
With an act that’s one part Saturday-morning cartoon character and one part pro-wrestler, Jason Merrill is a fast-rising Boston comedian with an animated style. The latest in a line of strong comedians from the great city of Lawrence, Massachusetts, he has impressed audiences with his streetwise style and good-natured exuberance. He has shared the stage with accomplished comedians such as Juston McKinney, Lenny Clarke, Christine Hurley, Joe Yannetty, and Steve Sweeney.
Paul Nardizzi is one of the country’s top comedians, with multiple standup appearances on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, and Fox Sports’ Best Damn Sports Show Period, as well as regional appearances on NESN. A former winner of the Boston Comedy Festival, Nardizzi is in demand for theater shows, corporate functions, colleges, golf tournament, and fundraisers. His CD has been played on Sirius Satellite Radio and he’s a prolific author of humor books, including the hilarious Things That Might Annoy … series, which pokes fun at Yankee fans, Jets fans, Republicans, and Democrats. He also wrote the hilarious 602 Reasons to be Ticked Off and The Sarcastic Sports Trivia Book. A former college soccer player and coach, he’s also the co-host of Soccerheads New England, a popular podcast that combines humor and news from the world of soccer.
Bob Niles has been a popular comedian in New England for more than 25 years, headlining shows at comedy clubs, Elks clubs, Lions clubs, country clubs, Rotary clubs, and just regular traffic rotaries. Niles has lived an unusual life, and when he examines this life for people to see, the results are pure dynamite! Bob was just 20 years old when his first child was born, and his second child came when he was 46!! What happened in between gets looked at and the results are hilarious. From the Woodstock-generation to the 21st century, Niles has been a confused observer and a baffled participant.
Will Noonan was named “Boston’s Best Comedian” by The Improper Bostonian magazine and is sometimes known as The Honda Guy for his current job as spokesman in Honda commercials on TV and radio. He’s gained notoriety for his fan-favorite role as “the event planner” in the Netflix movie The Sleepover and has appeared in other films including the independent Salesmen, currently in post-production. Onstage, he’s headlined at all of the top stages in Boston and around the New England region, and has performed on MTV‘s Ridiculousness, Laughs on FOX, Gotham Comedy Live on HULU. His CD gets frequent play on Sirius Satellite Radio.
Carolyn Plummer, selected to perform at Denis Leary’s prestigious Comics Come Home stand-up concert for 2022, has been a Boston comedy mainstay for several years. During her career, Carolyn has traveled extensively and to many parts of this country few have dared to venture. She has worked at clubs, colleges, dead animal lodges, theaters and corporations, appearing with many of the top headliners in the business. She has also participated in numerous festivals including the Hampton Beach Comedy Festival, Burbank Comedy Festival, Boston Comedy Festival and The Women in Comedy Festival. “I also won the Woody Herman Jazz Award for my trumpet playing abilities but I’m not one to brag,” she says.
Lamont Price was named “Best of Boston” twice by both Boston Magazine and Improper Bostonian and is the host of “Lamont’s Boston” on Channel 10 Boston, the NBC affiliate. He is the co-creator and co-creator of the Boston Calling Comedy Stage. He has been featured in Hulu’s “Triumph The Insult Comic Dog’s Election Special”, “NPR: Bullseye with Jesse Thorn”, “Funny Or Die’s Oddball Comedy Tour” and was been named to “Comedy Central’s Comics to Watch.” He has appeared in every major festival including Montreal Just for Laughs, Rooftop Comedy Aspen Festival, Hampton Beach Comedy Festival, Boston Comedy Festival, NY Comedy Festival, Women in Comedy Festival and Rogue Island Comedy Festival just to name a few. He has shared the stage with hundreds of comedians including Hannibal Buress, Steven Wright, Dane Cook, and Marc Maron.
Dave Rattigan has performed at Fenway Park, The Cape Cod Melody Tent, South Shore Music Circus, a lumberyard, the lobby of an ad agency, a library, and several parking lots. His CD has been played on Sirius Satellite Radio, and he performed multiple times on the syndicated Steve Katsos Show. He’s done commercials for Olympia Sports and iParty that have played on New England regional TV stations. He’s also performed in Dublin and Kilkenny, Ireland. He’s performed at the Hampton Beach Comedy Festival (NH), Boston Comedy Festival, Women in Comedy Festival, and Salem Comedy and Spirits Festival.
Mark Riley is an energetic Boston headliner with a unique perspective on everyday situations. He was once a professional ice hockey referee (he spent a very short time in the NHL) who also ran a Gymboree. He headlines in Boston as well as playing top rooms in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Atlantic City. A former first runner-up at the Boston Comedy Festival, Riley is also a regular at the prestigious Hampton Beach Comedy Festival. Among those he’s performed with are Steven Wright, Joe Rogan and Lenny Clarke. He headlines colleges and corporate shows as well and has worked as an actor in commercials and industrial films.
Ken Rogerson, the funniest man you’ve never heard of, has performed on the nationwide “Rescue Me Comedy Tour” with Denis Leary, and made television appearances on such shows as NBC’s Late night with Conan O’Brien, The Late Show with David Letterman, Comics Come Home for Comedy Central and Showtime’s A Pair of Jokes and more. Rogerson has also appeared at The Chicago Comedy Festival and TBS’s The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. The Boston Herald proclaimed, “He makes the absurd seem logical” and Las Vegas Magazine wrote, “As far as pure stand-up goes, it doesn’t get any better than Rogerson.”
Jim Ruberti is Boston comedian and actor who has been entertaining people for well over 30 years, starting as a child in the theaters of Cape Cod performing with Broadway actors such as John Raitt or Theordore Bikel, and progressing into roles as an adult at venues like the Barnstable Comedy Club. He has been a comic fundraising auctioneer and event host for more than 10 years, and a stand-up comedian working stages around New England. As a stand-up, he’s shared the stage with Boston headliners such as Lenny Clarke, Steve Sweeney, Paul Nardizzi, Mike McDonald, Dave Rattigan and Steve Bjork.
Jody Sloane cut her entertainment teeth doing her sit-down shtick as a cheeky “conducktor” named Penny Wise on the Boston Duck Tours. Her duck tour experience — 4,000 times — was the perfect tee-up to becoming a stand-up comic. She’s now a regular at esteemed comedy venues, including Headliners Comedy Clubs throughout New England, Gotham Comedy Club in New York City, Comix Comedy Club at Mohegan, Nick’s Comedy Stop, plus roadhouses, Elks Clubs and dives from Portland to New York. Wherever people need to laugh, Jody answers the call and is a favorite for booking agents and clubs across the Northeast.
Charlestown-born Steve Sweeney is a legendary Boston comedian known as a master of dialects and character voices. With his famous Boston accent and great insight into human nature, Sweeney is so thoroughly Bostonian that he merits his own stop on the MBTA Green Line. He has appeared in dozens of films and televisions shows including Letterman, 2019’s Sweeney Killing Sweeney (in which he spoofed his own persona), as well as Denzel Washington’s The Equalizer, Rodney Dangerfield’s Back to School, The Farelly Brothers’ There’s Something About Mary and Me, Myself and Irene, and several others. He is a frequent guest on Boston radio and was host of the morning-drive Sweeney’s Neighborhood on WZLX (100.7 FM).
Amy Tee is one of the busiest comedians on the New England comedy circuit today. Whether performing in world famous comedy clubs, theaters, colleges, or at charity events, her edgy but subtle approach turns her personal tribulations into non-stop hilarity with mainstream and alternative audiences from Los Angeles to New York City alike. As an official presenter for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Amy Tee proudly uses her comedy act to serve as a mental wellness advocate. Mentioned in Curve magazine as one of the “funniest lesbians in America,” and identified as a rising star by the Boston Globe, she is a regular performer at the Boston Comedy Festival and also featured on Sirius XM Satellite Radio & LOGO television network.
Former Social Worker Tony V. remains one of Boston’s top comedians, character actors and writers. Recently, he released an Amazon Prime standup special and started a podcast, Two Boston Guys Whack Up a Pie, with fellow standup Jimmy Dunn. Those added to a lengthy list of industry credits that also includes network TV (Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central’s Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Seinfeld, Boston Common, The Single Guy and Dr. Katz Professional Therapist, more), and movies (The Town, The Heat, State and Main, World’s Greatest Dad, Celtics Pride, My Best Friend’s Girl, Shakes the Clown, more). He’s graced the top stages in Boston and elsewhere around the country, in both clubs and theaters.
Joe Yannetty is a world traveler, accomplished comedian, and cancer survivor who you may recognize from cruise ships, top Boston clubs, Denis Leary’s Comics Come Home or his commercial for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He draws on his travels, his Italian heritage, family situations and Boston blue-collar upbringing in his comedy. A guest on dozens of television shows, he’s also written movie scripts (including Suckers from HBO), and appeared at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Radio City Music Hall in New York City and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He was once the warmup act for Rosie O’Donnell’s TV show and beat Drew Carey on Star Search.
Chris Zito has spent the last 34 years sharing observations with comedy fans and radio listeners all over the country. Known to many for his stint on a highly-rated morning show on WXLO in Worcester and 103.3 WODS in Boston, he has also been a mainstay of Boston comedy stages and also ventured into acting with a notable role in Larry David’s HBO film Clear History. Chris has provided comic relief to the JR in the Morning Show on WZOU in Boston, and to drive-time shows on Detroit and Springfield radio. Clean, funny, and upbeat, Zito delights audiences with his look at family, marriage, and how much childhood has changed.
