Observational humorist Jo Koy will return to entertain audiences at the Palm Beach Improv tonight and Saturday. Comedy fans may recognize him from appearances on various VH1 I Love the ’70s, ’80s or ’90s episodes. He also has starred in several television stand-up specials from BET’s Comic View to Jamie Foxx Presents: Laffapalooza!

Directions, invite a friend

On Sunday, Jo Koy’s opening act Orlando Baxter will step into the headliner spot and take over the Improv stage for the 7 p.m. show. This energetic former middle school teacher was a finalist in NBC’s Stand Up for Diversity Showcase, and a finalist in the New York Comedy Contest and the Boston Comedy festival. He’s a regular at numerous comedy clubs throughout New England, and currently tours the country performing with Koy.

What: Jo Koy; Orlando Baxter

When: Koy performs 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday. Baxter performs 7 p.m. Sunday .

Where: The Palm Beach Improv, 550 S. Rosemary Ave. Suite 250, West Palm Beach

Tickets: $29 (Koy); $15.22 (Baxter)

Phone: (561) 833-1812

Jeff Foxworthy performs at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood. (Howie Grapek / GPO)

Jeff Foxworthy, the best-selling comedy recording artist in history, paid a visit to The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood on Thursday night. He joked with the sold-out crowd about his family, his childhood, differences between men and women, and many other real-life experiences and observations.

Foxworthy’s humor works because he is just observing life around him. I was thrilled that the show had some new material in it. As Foxworthy is now over 50, he is barraged with new experiences surrounding his age. One portion of the night’s stand-up act focused on issues such as colonoscopies, sexual dysfunction and prostate check-ups. Granted, this is old-style humor, always guaranteed to get some laughs, but Foxworthy’s delivery kept it fresh and fun.

Photos: Jeff Foxworthy at the Hard Rock | Visit Howie Grapek’s website

Foxworthy has a way with a phrase that sounds homespun yet warped in an original way. Being with his in-laws, for example, is “as fun as sittin’ in a tub full of scissors.” He got many laughs when talking about his family – His mother, he noted, didn’t want to stay at the local Motel 6 because “I don’t want people thinking we’re uppity.”
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On this year's roster for the South Beach Comedy Festival: Lewis Black, Donald Glover, Aziz Ansari.

The guy who wants you to save NBC’s Community on YouTube is coming to South Florida – probably hoping his campaign is successful.

Donald Glover, who plays Greendale Community College student Troy Barnes, will be part of the lineup for the South Beach Comedy Festival in Miami Beach, Feb. 29-March 3.

Glover will be joined by Lewis Black, Aziz Ansari, Mark Maron, Jeffrey Ross, the team of Key & Peele, Amy Schumer, Rob Delaney and Hannibal Buress, along with the roster of Shaq’s All-Star Comedy Jam, including Bill Bellamy, Gary Owen and Tommy Davidson.

Glover is a multi-talented performer who also counts rap among his skills – he uses the name Childish Gambino – and was also a writer on 30 Rock before starting on Community. Glover received the first-ever Rising Comedy Star of the Year Award at the recent Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal.

He’ll be performing March 3 at the Fillmore Miami Beach.
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Pete Correale performs this weekend at the Improv at CityPlace, while Derek Richards and the Irish Comedy Tour head to Jupiter's Atlantic Theatre.

Pete Correale brings his perspective on the quirks of everyday life back to the Palm Beach Improv this weekend. He first stepped on stage in 1994 after graduating from Fredonia State College in New York. Since then he has showcased his material on television on Premium Blend, Shorties Watchin’ Shorties, Tough Crowd, Last Call with Carson Daly and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In addition to working the stand-up circuit, he is a writer and radio personality. For four years he, along with former Saturday Night Live actor Jim Breuer, co-hosted Breuer Unleashed on Sirius satellite radio.

Directions, invite a friend: Pete Correale | Irish Comedy Tour

The laughs continue in Jupiter this weekend at the Atlantic Theater where it’s never too early to start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day! Get in the spirit with the Irish Comedy Tour, complete with a guitarist (Derrick Keane) from Dublin, on Saturday. Detroit native Derek Richards, who has appeared on the Bob & Tom Show, will entertain with tales about his pale Irish skin, the holidays and dating a stripper. Boston-born Mike McCarthy will showcase the no-holds-barred humor that has landed him on Comedy Central and Showtime. The boisterous, belly-laugh trio will perform two shows, one at 7:30 and one at 9:30 p.m on Saturday.

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Bob Newhart performs at Hard Rock Live. (Howie Grapek / GPO)

It felt as if we were transported back in time to vintage Las Vegas when Bob Newhart and the daughter of Dean Martin performed live to over 4,500 distinguished guests at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Tuesday night.

Deana Martin opened the show to sing and reminisce about the original “Rat Pack”, specifically her dad (Dean Martin) and her “uncles”: Sammy (Davis Jr.), Frank (Sinatra), Joey (Bishop) and Peter (Lawford). After a short video introduction, Ms. Martin opened the show with “Ain’t It A Kick In The Head”. Then she mentioned the first “Ocean’s 11″ movie. She said that she “remembered it like it was yesterday” and went right into “You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You”. Before singing “Volare”, she described her first singing lessons with Sinatra and humorously compared styles of her dad with her Uncle Frank.

Martin said that she loved her father and extended family very much. She told sweet stories of being chaperoned in Las Vegas by her “uncles” when she was a kid. She shared that as she was arriving at the show tonight, she was asked by a couple in the elevator if her necklace was real. She said, “Of course it is!”, and then explained, “I’m Italian and very proud of it.” She continued to share that she has been asked thousands of times over the years if she would sing a duet with her dad. To the crowd’s delight and with the magic of technology, Martin actually performed a duet of “Lady Is A Tramp” with her late dad.

After a short slide show of the Rat Pack and Martin’s childhood, she concluded her set with “L.O.V.E.” / “It Had To Be You” and “Everybody Loves Somebody”.

Photos: Bob Newhart and Deana Martin at Hard Rock Live | Visit Howie Grapek’s website

Bob Newhart took the stage following Martin’s performance and entertained for more than an hour. Mr. Newhart also took the audience back in time with hilarious stories and video clips. He showed clips from his two hit TV programs, The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart, and a mock family history.

Newhart joked about everything with a straight-face, which he is best know for. He discussed religion, sex, his love of flying, how he got into comedy and being from Chicago. He covered material spanning his entire career. After talking about his failing attempt of being an accountant (a true story), and other stories of how he originally got into comedy, he performed “Driving Instructor” – just as it was originally recorded on his first comedy album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart from 1960.
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Frustrated with the current crop of Republican presidential hopefuls? You’re not alone. But local actor Frank Licari, director of the Atlantic Academy of the Arts and host of televised talent competition “Recreating a Legend,” has taken his angst to song. And like many current “American Idol” contestants, he’s involved Adele.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/bVN6RFis7E8

Behold “Someone Other Than Newt,” in which Frank gets all moody and black and white-musey in front of a body of water, and ponders the possibility that someone besides Mr. Gingrich get the nomination. It’s funny, timely and calls to mind some of Weird Al’s best wordplays. Funny knows no ideology.

Sal and Guy Richards perform at the Feast Of Little Italy on Saturday.

Sal Richards and Guy Richards are headlining the entertainment Saturday night for the Taste of Little Italy in Port St. Lucie. They are the true ‘like father, like son’ combo.

Not only have I had the pleasure of interviewing both men, I watched them perform on stage together just last week. The audience was the true litmus test for my review and the way they laughed, became part of the show and gave them a standing ovation showed me that these two could really cater to any kind of audience. Both Sal and Guy are performers, entertainers, singers, actors and comedians who tour the country on their own and every now and then they’re in concert together. It’s no coincidence that the Richards’, a 100 percent New York Italian family has been paired with the Taste of Little Italy, which takes place Friday through Sunday at Tradition Square.

Directions, invite a friend | Visit this writer’s website

There is something magical about the two of them. They are surrounded with an aura of charisma, charm and likeability that becomes so infectious. While they are performing not only is the audience laughing, but both of them are also laughing and having just as much fun. Both Sal and Guy have been known to come down into the audience so watch out.

I was lucky enough to be backstage with the Richards’. It’s said Italians are passionate about life and trying to get a word or an opinion in is somewhat of challenge. But beneath all that loud chatter is a true family bond that holds the family together. There is so much love and support from Sal’s wife, Rose Ann Richards, who even to this day after many years of seeing her husband perform says, “He still makes me laugh. Every show is a little different. He mixes it up.”

When she watches her son Guy, Rose Ann says it’s just like watching Sal when he was younger, but with different humor.

Sal’s jokes are current, and yet somewhat slanted towards his audience’s demographics. I would suspect at the Taste of Little Italy, his Italian nationality is definitely going to be showing.

Also appearing during the event are Tommy Mara (8 p.m. Friday), who is best known as one of the singers in the doo-wop group The Crests, famous for their hit “Sixteen Candles”; and Franco Corso (6 p.m., Sunday), the “Voice of Romance”, known for his smooth voice and good looks.

Harland Williams, whose film career took off after he starred in Half Baked with Dave Chappelle, will return to the Palm Beach Improv this weekend. Williams has also appeared in Dumb & Dumber, Superstar, There’s Something About Mary, The Whole Nine Yards and Employee of the Month. Despite his busy film schedule, he still devotes time to his first true love: live stand-up comedy.

What: Harland Williams

When: 8 and 10:30 p.m. today, 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, and 7 p.m. Sunday.

Where: The Palm Beach Improv, 550 S. Rosemary Ave. Suite 250, West Palm Beach | Directions, nearby dining

Tickets: $25.82

Phone: (561) 833-1812

Jumping the Broom‘s Mike Epps will return to the Palm Beach Improv stage this weekend. Also known for his roles as Black Doug in The Hangover and Day-Day in the Friday trilogy, Epps has been showcasing his comedic abilities since he was a teenager. His projects on the horizon include the thriller Vipaka, slated for release later this year, in which he stars alongside Forest Whitaker.

The multitalented comedian, actor and rapper will perform two shows tonight, two Saturday and one on Sunday.

What: Mike Epps

When: 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20; 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21; and 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22.

Where: The Palm Beach Improv, CityPlace, 550 S. Rosemary Ave., Suite 250, West Palm Beach | Directions, invite a friend

Tickets: $39.60

Phone: (561) 833-1812

Comic Greg Fitzsimmons will be appearing at the Improv through Sunday.

Emmy Award-winner Greg Fitzsimmons will return to the Palm Beach Improv stage this weekend. The comedian, writer and radio host won four daytime Emmys as a writer and producer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He later went on to become the head writer for The Chelsea Handler Show. Fitzsimmons hosts The Greg Fitzsimmons Show, a Sirius XM Radio program, as well as his biweekly podcast, Fitzdog Radio. He is also a regular on the late night comedy circuit, performing his stand up on shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Show with David Letterman.

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