ARC Comedy Night Benefit is February 9
HUDSON/MARLBOROUGH: The ARC is hosting the 13th Annual Comedy Night Benefit, featuring the area’s most popular and talented comedians on February 9, at the Hudson Portuguese Club, 13 Port Street. The event, being held in support of the Addiction Referral Center (ARC) of Marlborough, will include lots of laughs, food, and raffle prizes.
The ARC has been serving the local community for over fifty years, since 1972, and relies on fundraising and donations to provide its services. Entertainers at the Comedy Night Benefit include popular comedians Jason Merrill, Dan Miller, and Jeff Koen. Hosting the evening is Dave Rattigan.
Dave Rattigan returns as host. He has performed in Ireland, 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. “There’s nothing funny about the way he looks, until he gives that deadpan look of his,” popular blogger Ralph Fatello (RalphsPic.com) wrote earlier this year. “His outward appearance is something out of a mature GQ magazine. He looks like a cross between a semi hip banker, and your mild-mannered father-in-law… Dave is the master of completely dismantling himself in front of a crowd of strangers. I’m always torn as to whether I should console him, or just laugh my ass off like everyone else … You know they (comics) are hitting home when the audience starts to point at each other…” His CD was played on SiriusXM and radio stations all over the U.S. and Ireland, and he has appeared in regional television commercials on NESN.
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, he has impressed audiences with his streetwise style and good-natured exuberance. He is a member of Hard Hat Comedy – featuring three great Boston comics who are also union builders – and has performed at the Hampton Beach Comedy Festival. He has shared the stage with accomplished comedians such as Juston McKinney, Lenny Clarke, Christine Hurley, Joe Yannetty, and Steve Sweeney.
A native of the South End in Boston, Dan Miller was born a comedian but made it official when he burst onto the local comedy scene in the 1990s. Since then, he has teamed with local and national headliners including Lenny Clarke, Paul Nardizzi, Dane Cook, and Dave Attell. He’s also done a turn as an actor and improv comedian as a lead in the Boston-area dinner theater production of “Mario and Mary’s Italian Comedy Wedding.” He has since been honing his craft in comedy clubs throughout New England. He’s trained at The Actor’s Workshop and at the Harrison Project with well-known acting coach Peter Kelly, and has appeared on regional television commercials.
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.” His work has appeared at many film festivals, and he’s a regular performer on the Hampton Beach (NH) Comedy Festival.
Doors open for the event at 6:30pm and the show begins at 7:30pm. Food is available for purchase. Coffee and desserts are complimentary. For further information on sponsorships, program ads, tickets or table reservations, call the ARC Office at (508) 485-4357. Tables ($350) and individual tickets ($35) should be purchased in advance at the ARC. Chairing the planning for the event are Tracey Gustafson, John Campbell, and Donna Silva.
The Addiction Referral Center (ARC) ranks as one of the most respected and active recovery service resources in Middlesex County. As a nonprofit organization, the ARC provides individualized referral services, Recovery Coach appointments and daily peer-support meetings at no cost to those seeking recovery from substance use disorder. To donate to the ARC or sponsor the 13th Annual Comedy Night Benefit please call the ARC (508/485-4357) or visit theaddictionreferralcenter.org/2024-comedy.