Rhea, Thicke, headline comedy fest

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Alan Thicke

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Caroline Rhea

Is the end really near?

Well, despite what the Mayans predicted, it seems unlikely that the world will cease to exist in 2012. But in terms of Al Rae's comedy-booking wish list, there can't be all that many names left to cross off.

As the Winnipeg Comedy Festival heads into its second decade, artistic director Rae continues to check names off the list of Canadian comics he'd love to book for the annual springtime gigglefest.

This year's "good get" guests include one of Canada's best-ever female standups, a TV-sitcom icon with deep comedy-writing roots and a veteran standup star who ranks among the weirdest of this country's comedy exports.

The 2012 Winnipeg Comedy Festival lineup, which will be officially unveiled at a doomsday-themed media event today at the Gas Station Theatre, will include headline appearances by Caroline Rhea, Alan Thicke and Harland Williams as part of an 11-day event (April 5 to 15) that will also offer comedy fans the return of The Debaters, an all-female gala, a fake telethon, a real, funny film fest and a unique big-ticket dining opportunity that combines gourmet fare with high-class Canadian comedy.

"We're doing a longer-form festival again," Rae said of the 11-day duration, which matches the length of last year's 10th-anniversary celebration. "It gives us the opportunity to schedule some shows more than once, as in the case of Bruce Clark's play (Incongruous) last year, which also gives people the chance to hear about a show and then see it before it goes away. It gives the comics more opportunities to perform and, especially in the first week, it gives more venues and slots to local comics outside of The Winnipeg Show."

Rae said he considers Rhea -- the Montreal-born comic whose TV work includes an extended run on the ABC sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch and a brief stint as host of her own daytime talk show -- to be his best acquisition in this year's lineup.

"We're delighted to have her; she's a very big name for us," he said. "I think she's a great comic -- like Ellen (DeGeneres) and Elaine Boosler, she was one of the ground-breakers in terms of female comics. I've been trying to get her here for a few years now."

Rhea will host an all-female gala titled Women Who Kill, which will also feature performances by Nikki Payne, Debra DiGiovanni, Sherri Sutton and others.

Also of note is the first comedy-fest appearance of Alan Thicke, star of the long-running '80s/'90s sitcom Growing Pains. Rae said the Canadian-born writer/performer's comedy background has never received the attention it deserves.

"He's not a standup, but he is a comedy writer and he was on one of the most successful situation comedies of all time," he explained. "For most of his career, he has sold himself as a comedy writer; that's how he's made his living. I think he's going to be hilarious."

The festival will open on April 5 with the return of Kevin Film Fest, an interactive movie showcase hosted by Kids in the Hall member and lifelong film geek Kevin McDonald. This year's focus is on comedy duos and teams, which will allow McDonald to showcase his own troupe's feature, Brain Candy, as well as the work of the Marx Brothers, Monty Python, Laurel & Hardy and the tandem of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.

The list of 2012 gala shows at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre includes Telethon, hosted by Thicke, Characters, hosted by Williams, Observational Comedy Disorder (host TBA), the Jewish-themed The Chosen Show, the aforementioned Women Who Kill, and the annual Best of the Fest.

CBC TV and radio personality Wab Kinew will host this year's aboriginal-themed gala, Unreserved, which features performances by Ryan McMahon, Don Burnstick, Don Kelly and Paul Rabliauskas.

Rae added that there are a couple of other big Canadian-comedy names in play for this year's event, but negotiations were still ongoing at press time.

The popular CBC radio/TV series The Debaters returns to the Winnipeg Comedy Festival after a year's absence, and this time the shows have relocated to the more spacious confines of the Burton Cummings Theatre. CBC Radio's Definitely Not The Opera will also record shows in front of a live festival audience.

Debaters host Steve Patterson will also perform his own one-man standup show, appropriately titled This Is Not Debatable.

Another Kids in the Hall regular, Scott Thompson, will host the fest's always-popular and decidedly blue-hued late-night Dark & Stormy Show at the Gas Station Theatre. This year's schedule also includes the festival's first-ever All-Girl Gay Show, which will be preceded by a education/entertainment-oriented panel titled Make It Better.

Rumor's Comedy Club maintains its spot in the festival rotation, with featured performers John Wing, Perry Perlmutar, Terry McGurrin, Rebecca Kohler, Jen Grant, Simon King and Nigel Lawrence slated to headline.

For comedy-fest fans with deeper pockets and a desire for a unique festival experience, the 2012 lineup also introduces Gastro-comique, a $150 ticket that features a gourmet meal for two at Fusion Grill followed by an intimate (only 40 seats are available) live-comedy performance by Sean Cullen.

In addition to all the local comedy fun, the festival is also taking its act(s) on the road, crossing the border into Saskatchewan for the first time to present a quartet of shows in Regina, Saskatoon, North Battleford and Swift Current.

"It's a new initiative that I think is really good for the fest," said Rae. "It helps get the name of the festival out there, to extend our brand, and while we're out there doing the tour, there will be all these great shows happening back home at the festival."

For the full comedy-fest lineup and ticket information, visit the festival's website at www.winnipegcomedyfestival.com.

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 22, 2012 C1