MONTREAL – Just for Laughs is stepping up its game this year.
From well-liked favourites like the Nasty Show and the Ethnic Show to high profile comics like Neil Patrick Harris, Glee‘s Jane Lynch and “heir to the Daily Show” Trevor Noah, VP of Programming Robbie Praw tells Global News what he’s looking forward to most at this year’s funny festivities.
Global Montreal: What are the top five shows you’re most excited about and what’s so special about them?
It is an honour to have one of the most legendary comedians of all time back in Montreal. I just saw him perform in North Carolina in November and it was a completely new show – some of the best stand-up I’ve seen in a long time. We are absolutely thrilled about his return this year.
He is one of the best hosts in the world and is responsible for some of our favourite comedic moments in TV and film. His show features some of the world’s best variety acts that he chose himself. This is unlike any show we have this summer and I can’t wait to see it all come together.
He is one of the top working stand-ups in the world right now and is an absolute fan-favourite. We’ve already added a third show.
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She exudes such an essence of joy on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt that we had to have her host her first gala. Her line-up includes some of the top heavy hitters of our festival like Chris Hardwick, Reggie Watts, Margaret Cho and more. This is going to be a huge night.
Between SNL 40, his last tearful and hilarious Letterman performance and his new role of Judge on Last Comic Standing – it’s the year of Norm. I can’t wait to see this Canadian icon in action.
Is there anything new or unique this year that we should know about?
RP: This year we are adding, for the first time, the Roastmaster Invitational: 2015 World Championships of Competitive Roasting with Jeff Ross.
I can’t wait to see the low depths our 16 invited roasters will take to win this prestigious new crown.
Our ComedyPRO conference is also boasting some exciting new additions this year, including more TV cast shows/panels than ever – like the cast of Silicon Valley – and more in-depth conversations with legends like Mike Myers.
How hard is it for JFL to outdo itself each year?
Extremely difficult – stop stressing us out!
Are there any free shows? When and what are they?
We’re proud to have a free outdoor “Weird Al” Yankovic show this year, as part of his Mandatory World Tour.
The show will take place on July 24 at 9:00 p.m. at the Place des festivals.
What do you have planned for people who want to wander downtown, but can’t afford to pay for a show?
We have awesome food trucks during the festival next to the Place des Arts.
But for those who want to see world class comedy at food truck prices, OFF-JFL is where it’s at.
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
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