Scranton Comedy Club reopens in Dunmore with Delaware comic Keith Purnell on March 27
Before the coronavirus pandemic, the Scranton Comedy Club opened in a newly remodeled location and hosted several successful monthly shows until the statewide shutdown.
It was able to reopen briefly for a sold-out socially distanced event on Nov. 28 before all indoor entertainment was shut down again in December.
With spring just around the corner and COVID-19 cases finally on the decline, the club is coming back with another limited occupancy event at the Holiday Inn Scranton East in Dunmore on Saturday, March 27.
Delaware comedian Keith Purnell, who has appeared on Comedy Central, Fox, MTV, BET, SiriusXM, and NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” will headline this dinner and a show featuring Peaches Rodriguez and Barry Ribs, with club owner Kevin Lepka serving as the host.
Doors at the Holiday Inn Scranton East (200 Tigue St., Dunmore) open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. All state and CDC guidelines will be followed, and seating will comply with indoor restrictions.
“Limited to only 100 tickets available,” Lepka said. “So excited to be back!”
Tickets, which are $40 for general admission and the dinner buffet, are on sale now via Eventbrite. There is currently a special running for two tickets for $70, and the NEPA Scene exclusive promo code SCENE5 will take an extra $5 off single tickets. For more information, call 570-357-2693 or visit the Facebook event page.
Keith Purnell has been entertaining crowds at clubs and casinos across the country for over 15 years. He is a high-energy performer whose quick wit, style, and fast-paced humor makes him a hit with audiences young and old. His passion for comedy is evident in every performance as he goes full steam ahead into every show from start to finish.
Purnell was a winner in Howard Stern’s “Kill or Be Killed” comedy competition and was the Philadelphia regional winner in Sierra Mist’s “Next Great Comic” contest. He was on “Last Comic Standing” and is gaining a reputation as the next rising star.
When he’s not telling jokes, he is an accomplished DJ that is booked regularly for clubs, weddings, and special events. Starting at the age of 12, he did house parties for friends before he was featured on his high school and college radio stations, eventually becoming known as DJK.
Peaches Rodriguez, a self-proclaimed “gangsta cougar,” is a Latina stand-up comic from Connecticut who has been working in New York City clubs such as the Comic Strip Live and Stand Up NY for over 12 years. Her twisted perspective and edgy humor has won her a place in the annual Jack Daniels Latino Comedy Festival as well as on college tours and three USO tours in the Middle East to support and entertain the troops. She has performed with Jerry Seinfeld and opened for Arsenio Hall in Atlantic City.
A winner of the “Funniest Comic in Connecticut” contest, Rodriguez was also a world-class breakdancer in the 1980s and has gone on to act and produce films like “The Latin Heavy Hitters of Comedy.”
Barry Ribs is a senior citizen who has been on this Earth for almost 100 years and in the game for 26. He is an urban comedy room legend that has toured with D.L. Hughley and opened for Jim Breuer. He has performed at the world-famous Apollo Theater and knows all the greats of the New York City comedy scene.
Scranton-based comedian, actor, and producer Kevin Lepka has many years of experience as a stand-up comedian, host, and sketch comedy/improv performer in all types of venues up and down the East Coast, sharing stages with Gilbert Gottfried, Artie Lange, Pete Davidson, Andrew Schulz, and more. He founded Laugh Out Lepkas Comedy to bring comedians like Gilbert Gottfried, Artie Lange, Rich Vos, the Reverend Bob Levy, Jessimae Peluso, and even the WWE’s Honky Tonk Man to the area in addition to his Scranton Comedy Club shows.
Over the years, the club has hosted shows in downtown Scranton locations like the Ritz Theater, Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel, and the second floor of Tequila (now the AV Restaurant & Lounge) as well as the Ramada Inn in Clarks Summit. It debuted at the Holiday Inn Scranton East in January of 2020.
Monthly shows at the current location are headlined by nationally touring comedians who play at clubs, casinos, resorts, and colleges across the country and have appeared on HBO, Comedy Central, Showtime, Netflix, “Last Comic Standing,” “America’s Got Talent,” SiriusXM, Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, MTV, VH1, BET, and more. Local and up-and-coming comedians are featured as well.
The Scranton Comedy Club also offers a no-cost way for nonprofit groups to raise money for their organizations through ticket sales. Those who are interested can email Lepka at laughoutlepkascomedy@gmail.com.
