Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Brad Garrett’s new comedy club gets some love from favorite comedians

Brad Garrett's Comedy Club

David Becker/WireImage

Jenn Kober performs at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club VIP Grand Opening at MGM Grand on Thursday, March 29, 2012.

Brad Garrett's Comedy Club

Kate Gosselin in the audience at Brad Garrett's Comedy Club VIP Grand Opening at MGM Grand on Thursday, March 29, 2012.

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This was Brad Garrett’s kind of scene. A comedy club bearing his name, packed with friends, fellow comics and the resort executives who have provided him a place to play at MGM Grand.

The comic hosted an invitation-only VIP show Thursday night to unveil Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club at Starlane Mall at MGM Grand. The comedy enclave sits in Starlane Mall, to be redubbed the MGM Underground, the entrance of which is just off the hotel’s main lobby. The venue is similar to the Tropicana’s in that the stage is back-dropped by a crimson curtain and the floor is strewn with round tables (seating two rather than the four-tops at the Trop). Garrett opted for more booth seating at the new club, a dozen at MGM compared with three at the old place, and the seating capacity is a cozy 283, a bit less than the Trop haunt.

This is Garrett’s second pass at operating a club in Vegas. He uprooted from the Tropicana, where he leased space for 18 months before checking out in December. A chance to tap into the rich marketing opportunities at MGM Resorts International’s bevy of resorts on the Strip swayed Garrett to make the move.

Thursday’s lineup was replete with favorites of Garrett, including sets by longtime friends Ray Romano (a regular headliner at Mirage) and Palace Station headliner Louie Anderson. Michael Somerville (who has been featured on Comedy Central and is due for an appearance on “The Late Show” with David Letterman), Jenn Kober (HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Ralph Harris (NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”), Jon Manfrellotti (Romano’s and Garrett’s co-star from “Everybody Loves Raymond”), Dom Irrera (a talk-show and nightclub mainstay) and an unexpected set from Steve McGrew (“Full Frontal Comedy” on Showtime) filled out the night.

The club opens for the public tonight, with Garrett hosting a bill featuring Somerville, Harris and Geechy Guy, who has moved his “Dirty Jokes Show” to the Plaza.

A sampling of the first night of actual comedy to be committed at Garrett’s club:

From Garrett: “I’m the only Jew who has an Irish accountant. I call him and ask, ‘How broke am I?’ And he says (mumbling drunkenly), ‘Call me tomorrow.’ ”

From Romano: “I’d like to congratulate Brad on his new club. I was going to buy him a gift, but what do you get a guy who has everything … because of you?”

From Kober, who has dropped 40 pounds and says she has a lot more to go: “Don’t call me ‘fat.’ I prefer the term, ‘Hard to kidnap.’ … I used to find those flavor packets in ramen noodles and thought they were the little packets that keep things fresh. I kept throwing that away! I was like, ‘The chicken tastes just like the steak! This sucks!’ ”

From Anderson: “(Of McDonald’s) Those aren’t golden arches, they’re butt cheeks. They have McDonald’s over in China now. I guess that “Billions and Billions Served” doesn’t mean much over there.”

From Harris: “My wife has a dog, and she kisses the dog. I’ve never loved a dog so much that I want to French kiss it. She says, “A dog’s saliva is cleaner than a human’s!’ Yeah, but his butt isn’t! And five minutes ago, he licked his butt. I was gonna stop you, but you went in too fast!”

From Irrera: “They remind you on the news to drink water when it’s hot! Really? I hadn’t thought of that! Thank God the news reminded me to drink water when it’s 116 outside! Whoever told me to eat peanut butter gave me bad advice!”

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.

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