Comedy night taps into local talent

P+J Comedy Night, Mondays, 8-11 p.m., Whistles (126 Franklin Ave., Scranton). No cover. Info: 570.341.7427, find P+J Comedy night on Facebook.

Paul Spratt will make you laugh, whether you want to or not. As host of P+J Comedy Night, he’s attempting to delivers the best of Scranton’s rich, untapped comedy well.

“I wanted to show people that Scranton has a lot of talent,” said Spratt.

Pratt is no newcomer to promoting. He has been doing this for a couple years, starting with his previous nights at the recently closed Hometown Heroes in Dunmore. This evolved into P+J Comedy Night held at Whistles in Scranton every Monday starting at 8 p.m. The night begins with local musicians playing acoustic.

“We are the best of both worlds: music and comedy, with drink specials and wings,” Spratt said.

The comedic talent of P+J literally speaks for itself. Comedy and music are living art forms, and the best part of watching it live is hearing how someone else’s mind is working. And where some comedy nights can be drab and boring with long awkward silences and not much laughter, P+J keeps the ball rolling, judging from the Aug. 30 installment. No matter what happens. Pratt’s talent lies in his ability to improvise. With 15 comics a night, things don’t slow down as each comic gets a 10-minute set. The crowd is big enough to socialize or just sit by yourself and Whistles offers a great setting for such an event.

Spratt has also been performing comedy for a couple of years now and has honed his act by taking class in New York and performing out of state. He said that classes improved his stage presence and helped him develop his “comedy voice.”

The show held Aug. 30 was a bit unusual. The usual location, the back banquet room, was occupied by a benefit party, so the event was moved to the front bar. The sound was clear and the crowd attentive. Mostly all of the comedians got a few laughs, and there was not much down time.

There is no cover charge for P+J Comedy Night, and the mic is open for any comedian to perform. Spratt said he makes the night like a New York-style comedy club where everyone is allotted the same amount of time. This format means that it is up to the comics themselves to sink or swim. Everyone attending also has the chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Electric City Tattoo or Ricochets Rapid Detail car detailing.

So far bands like A Social State, EverRage, Unshackled, Mat Parsons and The 357’s, have performed. There was a wide range of local comedians including Terri Lee, Jake Navarro of Froggy 101’s “Jake in the Afternoon” show and fellow host Jeremy Pryal, and many others.

Co-hosts Jay Thyberg and Pryal perform comedy, with Pryal incorporating acoustic guitar into his set.

The next event on Sept. 13 will feature Parsons performing a set of music followed by a full slate of comedians.

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