Sam VanCura’s wife wants him to call it quits next year after what will be the 40th annual Third Saturday in August comedy show.
Each summer, VanCura brings national comedians to the Renaissance Theatre stage. The 39th version will take place at 8 p.m. Aug. 15. Comedians lined up for the show are Josh Sneed, Andy Pitz and Don Gavin.
“I go onstage at exactly 8 o’clock, and I talk until I see people are seated,” VanCura said. He added he might ask the crowd if he should go for 50 iterations of TSIA.
TSIA is always a success. VanCura said only 30 tickets remained as of Aug. 13 and predicted a sell-out.
“Some people have been to every single show,” he said, adding about 700 have standing orders.
He said all three comedians are what he seeks for TSIA.
“A clean show. If I hear the F-bomb, I’m upset,” VanCura said. “I’m not running a church service. It might get a little risqué, but it doesn’t get carried away.”
Sneed, who hails from Cincinnati, is a nationally touring comedian who has appeared on Comedy Central, including his own special.
One of Sneed’s specials, called “Josh Sneed: Live in the Dessert,” was released in 2018 by Dry Bar Comedy and has been viewed more than 60 million times.
Sneed has been on the nationally syndicated “The Bob & Tom Show” and has shared the stage with Dave Chappelle, Jim Gaffigan, Ron White and Kevin Hart.
“A lot of his humor is Ohio-based,” VanCura said. “In particular, he puts on the Amish. He doesn’t do it in an offensive way, but he does it in a way that people who have been down to Holmes County can appreciate.”
Pitz has been doing standup professionally since 1990. He grew up in Buffalo, New York. According to his website, he has been on TV a number of times, with appearances on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson.”
“The topics I talk about change all the time, of course, but, lately, I seem to be focusing on fatherhood, technology/social networking and just everyday things that I get obsessed with,” Pitz said on his website.
“He throws his family into his act a fair amount,” VanCura said. “I think people will like him a lot.”
Gavin is a veteran standup and actor, best known for such films and TV shows as “Shallow Hal” and “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.”
Gavin is also known as the godfather of comedy in Boston.
“He’s pretty much a straight shooter,” VanCura said. “When I dealt with his agent, he thought Don might be sort of retired.”
VanCura asked the agent to have Gavin reconsider because he really wanted the comedian for TSIA. He has performed on Letterman’s show and has toured more than 20 countries with the USO.
In all the years VanCura has been bringing comics to town, he has had only two comedians he couldn’t wait to see get off the stage.
He has attracted big names such as Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy before they broke big. He also lined up Kevin James, who canceled when he got a movie deal, and Nate Bargatze, one of the hottest standups on the circuit.
Bargatze was scheduled to come to Mansfield the year after VanCura negotiated with him, but Bargatze blew up in the interim.
In addition, VanCura talked with Drew Carey a number of years ago, but Carey said he would not take the F-bomb out of his act, so VanCura passed.
Anyone who wants a ticket should call VanCura at 419-610-4361. The cost is $45.
Reach Mark Caudill at 419-521-7219 or via X at @MarkCau32059251.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: A few tickets remain for annual Mansfield comedy show this weekend
Reporting by Mark Caudill, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mark Caudill, Mansfield News Journal | USA TODAY Network
