Catch a Rising Star, the iconic New York City comedy club that gave rise to such household names such as Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Rosie O’Donnell and Chris Rock, has opened in two venues at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts.
With its Twitter hashtag #RTL (Ready to Laugh), the center’s vintage gymnasium hopes to reach out to younger audiences, those born after the heyday of Catch, and the main stage at the Crest Theatre plans to attract more established residents who may have frequented the club during its halcyon days in the 1970s.
“Anyone under 30 doesn’t know that Catch a Rising Star is responsible for some of the biggest names in comedy,” says Melissa Carter, director of marketing and public relations at the arts center. “We want to introduce a younger generation to it and engage them on social media.”
The second Thursday of each month is designated for the gym, where the atmosphere is younger, more hip and club-like to attract the younger demographic.
Opening the series in October was DC Benny, 46, a New York-based self-proclaimed “off-white” comedian and former contestant on NBC’s comedy competition Last Comic Standing.
Coming up on the main stage at the Crest Theatre through April are more established comedians such as New Jersey’s Vic DiBitetto, Elayne Boosler, Tom Cotter and most recently, Jackie “The Jokeman” Martling.
In contrast to Martling, king of the one-liners, Benny is a storyteller and raconteur. He uses his life as a springboard for his comedy and acts out the international cast of characters – accents and all – that he encounters in New York.
“If something funny happens, I’ll make a note of it and get up and talk about it in my act,” says Benny. “Or, if something happens in the moment, I’ll interact with the audience; otherwise I’ll tell my stories.
“I work my act out on stage,” he says. “I have lines written that I think are funny, but the narrative comes to me on stage.”
Martling, Howard Stern’s former head writer and past member of his Wack Pack, is known for his encyclopedic knowledge of one-liners, and played “Stump the Joke Man” on Stern’s old radio show.
During his appearance in November, he gave the Delray Beach audience a taste of his shtick and provided punch lines to jokes offered up by audience members.
With many of his jokes X-rated or off-color, Martling, 66, warned the audience in advance: his show would be in three parts, each successively more offensive than the previous part.
“I’m gonna tell some dirty jokes, then filthy jokes and then some disgusting jokes,” he said. “Then you’ll be glad the show’s done.”
He then launched into a rapid-fire delivery of blonde jokes, fat jokes, sex jokes and of course, Jewish jokes. A number of people got up and walked out on some of his raunchier lines, but most of the audience knew what they were in for.
Catch a Rising Star (or “Catch” to its devotees) currently has clubs in Reno, Nev., Providence, R.I.; Princeton, N.J.; and according to CEO Suzy Yengo, they are scouting areas in Miami Beach for additional locations.
“We were looking for locations in Florida, and my business associate found Delray Beach,” Yengo said by phone from her office in Jersey City, N.J.
“Immediately, we thought it was perfect for a Catch club,” says Yengo, who travels the United States and Canada searching for up-and-coming comedic talent.
“There are a wide range of ages in the city and a lot of people are looking to socialize,” Yengo says. “Outside of New York or other major metropolitan cities, there are not many places bustling on a Wednesday night. But Delray is bustling on a Wednesday night.”
For the future, Yengo says she is looking forward to a lasting relationship with the Delray Beach Center for the Arts.
“We have a great relationship,” she says. “And we’re committed to a long-term association. We think it’s a perfect fit.”
Upcoming events in the gymnasium include: Kojo Prince on Dec. 11 and Mike Marino on Jan. 8. Upcoming events at the main stage comedy at the Crest Theatre include Vic DiBitetto on Dec. 18, Elayne Boosler on Jan. 28 and Tom Cotter on March 18. For more information, please visit: delraycenterforthearts.org or call: 561-243-7922, ext. 1. Delray Beach Center for the Arts is located at 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. Tickets are available on the website or by calling the box office at 561-243-7922, ext. 1.