Norfolk is a comedy destination

And just like a typical weeknight during those three decades, the Great American Comedy Festival, which is held each June at the Johnny Carson Theatre, showcases both recognizable names as well as up-and-comers.

Great American Comedy Festival

Kent Warneke, editor emeritus of the Daily News, came up with the idea for what became the Great American Comedy Festival, and it caught the attention of Eddie Brill, the booking agent for "The Late Show with David Letterman."

Brill worked with the festival's committee for more than a decade, starting in 2008, and booked talent such as Robert Klein, Drew Carey, Brian Regan, Martin Short, Louie Anderson and Paula Poundstone.

Brill also brought in talented young comedians to the festival, including some who would become household names, such as Tom Shillue, Pete Lee, Tom Cotter, Joe Machi and Joe DeVito.

The festival underwent changes after its 10th anniversary, with Brill no longer serving as chief booking agent and emcee.

Enter Pat Janssen.

The Auburn native started doing comedy in 2009 in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania and has lived in New York and Los Angeles. He became involved with the comedy festival in 2021 while working at News Channel Nebraska.

Janssen said he didn't exactly advertise his experience in the comedy industry, but he said friend and co-worker Eric McKay, a longtime veteran of the festival's organizing committee, found out.

"It just kind of slipped in conversation, and then he suggested to Lisa Wattier, who was on the board at the time, to add me to the committee," Janssen said.

Janssen knew a lot of comedians, so it was just natural for him to be involved in booking the performers.

"Chase Pflueger was on the board at the time; he was doing a lot of the booking," Janssen said. "Then, he and I, for a year, kind of co-booked it. And then I took over after that."

When it comes to booking talent, Janssen said the biggest factor is always the budget. But there are a lot of other considerations as well.

"We get one crack at it per year," Janssen said. "You're looking for kind of the thematic through line, and obviously ours is Johnny Carson since that's who this festival is essentially in honor of."

The festival features a comedy magic show that serves as family entertainment. There also are performances on Friday and Saturday evenings as well as a late-night show Friday at the District Event Center.

Janssen said everything at the Johnny Carson Theatre is meant to be what he describes as “Tonight Show”-adjacent. "You're looking for folks who have been on the show for the headliners, or maybe someone who you feel like Johnny would have on the show," Janssen said.

He added that the festival organizers tell performers that their material needs to be the kind of content that would be suitable for network television and "The Tonight Show."

Working from the top down

Janssen said he works from the top down.

"You're usually going to put your biggest name on that Saturday show, and that's going to be your most expensive person," Janssen said. "So, then you're kind of figuring out what you've got left for your Friday headliner, who's also probably not cheap.

"And then we offer the same amount to all of our magicians — we have three of those. And then we have eight feature acts: Four people who perform to open for the Friday night performer and four people who open for the Saturday performer."

Janssen said he wants to make sure the show includes a variety of comedians, though he's mindful to not book someone whose style is "way, way, way different in a kind of a way that would throw things off."

Janssen used last year's headliner, master impressionist Frank Caliendo, as an example. "There was someone else who I was looking to potentially book; he does a lot of impressions like Frank does," Janssen said. "And Frank, for understandable reasons, had asked that we don't have anybody who does impressions on the lineup."

Janssen said he goes through agents for the headliners, and many of the featured comedians have agents, too. "But they're a little bit closer to kind of my sphere, so I kind of reach out directly to them, either by knowing them personally, or by mutual friends," Janssen said.

Word of Mouth

Janssen said the festival has had great word-of-mouth recommendations from other comedians. "We take good care of them," Janssen said of the performers.

"We take them to Johnny's house. They get a chance to shoot hoops in Johnny's driveway. They go to the (Elkhorn Valley) museum. They're just kind of taken care of from beginning to end. It's not a waste of their time."

Janssen said there's also what he described as a folksy element to it. "They get to drive combines. It's a kind of experience they don't get at any other festival. So, then, other comics talk about it."

Janssen said McKay has called it a comedians' summer camp. "You have groups that kind of come in together. Some of them know each other, some of them not, and they just kind of bond together," Janssen said. "It's kind of fun to see the chemistry of each of those groups."

Making their way to the District

While the District Event Center hosts the late Friday night portion of the comedy festival, owner and operator Andrew McCarthy has given comedians another reason to make Norfolk a destination.

It all started when McCarthy purchased a building near his restaurant, District Table & Tap. "The building, originally, was in very rough shape," McCarthy said. "Right away, we just went with where it's located and thought about what Norfolk needed."

His first thought was to provide a place for families and companies to rent for events like reunions and parties. "But then, we quickly realized we were going to have to hold our own events there to make it sustainable," McCarthy said.

McCarthy said he noticed there weren't a lot of what he called one-off venues doing comedy. So he decided to do research around Nebraska.

"The Funny Bone (in Omaha) was doing some comedy. Major theaters were doing some comedy,” McCarthy said. “But, really, there was no other kind of just stand-alone venues, so we decided to kind of focus on comedy. Four years later, here we are."

Learning from the ground up

McCarthy said he learned the booking process without any previous knowledge of the industry and without any real connections to agents. But he reached out to a couple of people who were booking comedians, "and they kind of got me into that world of who to contact and that sort of thing and to do it the right way."

McCarthy said there is a lot of work that goes into each show that consumes the whole week. "With set-up and testing and then the comedians have their own kinds of themes — sometimes they have video — there's a lot going on," McCarthy said.

He said there were a lot of concerns dealing with people he didn't know. The first show featured Steve Hytner, who was a regular cast member on "Seinfeld." McCarthy said his booking agent was leery.

"Obviously, it's Norfolk, Nebraska, so we had added challenges getting comedians here," McCarthy said. "We also have benefits. We can say it's the home of Johnny Carson, which resonates with a lot of comedians.”

Growth of downtown

But things were happening downtown. "I could see people coming here more often. I talked to the Norfolk Area Visitors Bureau on a regular basis," McCarthy said. "I knew we had a chance to pull this off if done correctly."

McCarthy said he learned early on he had to have the comedians do at least three shows. "I pushed for four. The more shows we have, the more competitive we can be with ticket prices," McCarthy said.

McCarthy said convincing comics to come to Norfolk is a lot easier than it was four years ago. "The comedian community is a very small community," McCarthy said. “They talk a lot. The comedians know each other."

McCarthy said they've had to focus on challenges such as a two-hour drive from the airport and not being in a big city with Uber.

"We combat that with our hospitality," McCarthy said. "We put them up in a great hotel. Right now, we're working with the Fairfield Inn; they're kind of one of our partners. They provide great amenities.

"And then, when they're at the venue in the green room, they have whatever they request. We provide a meal between shows. We have to make sure when they're here, they leave with a positive image of Norfolk."

Super Trooper

McCarthy used Jay Chandrasekhar of "Super Troopers" as a perfect example. "Mostly, when these comedians come there, they know it's Nebraska,” McCarthy said. “They want a good steak. Jay made a reservation for us at the Black Cow Fat Pig after the show.

"He had other comedians say, 'We love going to the Black Cow with Andrew,' because it's a great meal and a great steak. It's cool when these people from L.A. or New York name a specific location in Norfolk that they like. So, I knew we were doing something right."

There are other examples as well. McCarthy said Hytner has been to Norfolk three times. "He gets off stage and he's, 'Who's going to the Harbor for a beer?' Bobcat Goldthwait, Chris Kattan, those guys wanted to see the Johnny Carson exhibit at the Elkhorn Valley Museum.

"A lot of them just walk around downtown. They get material. Erik Griffin from Workaholics had a blast at V's Oddz and Endz. He walked in and bought a coat and cup of soup.

"So, they're really all kind of different in their own way. But I think my favorite thing, now that we're four years in, is seeing the comedians come to Norfolk and they know what they want to do when they get here," McCarthy said.

Springboard to Downtown Norfolk

McCarthy said he knows the comedians so well, he often books directly with them. "Sometimes they're reaching out about 'When are you booking for the fall season?' We like to book out early. We have our shows advertised months before the show," McCarthy said. "We do that on purpose so we can get folks making a plan to come here."

McCarthy said communities the size of Norfolk can't typically pull off what those behind the District comedy nights and Great American Comedy Festival have been pulling off for years. But, he said, Norfolk is on the cutting edge of entertainment.

"We have great live music downtown. Our parks have great live music. Our bars and restaurants provide entertainment on a regular basis,” McCarthy said. “I think Norfolk's always on the cusp of finding new things that other people are scared to take a chance on."

Norfolk took a chance on comedy. And hit a home run.