Worst Christian? Pearl Harbor jokes? Boise comedy event to have ‘some cringe in there’

Idaho’s Best Comedian Show is returning for a second straight year this Memorial Day weekend, but under a new name and with a new theme: Idaho’s Best, Worst & Weirdest Comedians.

Yes, it’s going to be a little different.

The three-night comedy festival will kick off Thursday night at the Visual Arts Collective in Garden City. The venue will host the comedy event on Friday and Saturday nights as well, with doors opening at 7 p.m. all three nights.

The festival will have a similar format to last year, but it will feature a different mix of stand-up, burlesque and musically inclined comics.

Local comedian Beth Norton organized and hosted the show’s first iteration to kick start the Treasure Valley’s comedy scene after the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year’s competition featured a $1,000 reward for the best comedian, $500 for the runner-up and $250 for third place.

However, Norton told the Idaho Statesman in an interview that the competition element wasn’t good for several comedians’ mental health. So this time around, each night will award the best, worst and weirdest comedians in various audience-chosen categories.

“There is a competition element, but it’s a spoof,” Norton told the Statesman in a phone call Monday. “It’s kind of like making fun of competitions.”

Each night audience members will be able to submit categories for the best, worst and weirdest competitions, which will then be used to judge the comics. Although Norton doesn’t know exactly what audience members will submit, she’s expecting to see category suggestions such as “Idaho’s best lesbian” and “Idaho’s worst Christian” or “Idaho’s weirdest take on Pearl Harbor.”

Audience members whose category nominations are chosen will win an award, along with the winning comedian on the night.

“I’ve selected the most unique acts on the scene already,” Norton said. “So I would say every one of these comedians, like their material, as I’ve seen it and as it stands on its own, could be a winner in any category.”

Who will be at the show?

So who is performing, and what should the audience expect each night?

“People can expect to be surprised. I would say shocked to see something that they’ve never seen before. To be made to laugh,” Norton said. “Probably, there’s going to be some cringe in there. I expect people to be caught off-guard and their minds opened and to feel happy and also uncomfortable, maybe at the same time.”

Norton, who will host the show all three nights, frequently performs at Treefort’s Comedyfort, 208 Comedy Fest and many local brewery shows.

Burlesque performer Muff Jones is the show’s producer and will also perform each night. Jones founded Femme Von Follies and Tease Academy, and is a co-producer of Make em’ Blush Burlesque.

Norton also said that audience members should be excited to see accordion player Matt Vorhies — who will also perform at the festival with his garage folka band A Mighty Band of Microbes — and local stand-up comics Sundberg and Reese Samuels.

“In short, this is a celebration of local comedy in a variety of forms; stand-up comedy, burlesque comedy and musical comedy,” Norton said. “It’s an opportunity for local comedians to be more celebrated for their uniqueness in a fun way rather than pitting people against each other.”