Collingswood Natives Bring the Laughs at Comedy Show Tonight

Looking for a way to kick off the long holiday weekend in town? A dozen Philly and South Jersey comedians are ready to make the audience LOL at ’s first stand-up comedy night.

The fun starts tonight, Friday, at 8 p.m. at the coffee bar on Haddon Avenue. While Grooveground frequently hosts music acts or poetry readings, this is the venue’s first foray into live comedic entertainment.

“We like to give people a source of alternative entertainment versus what you see at other places,” says Grooveground manager Colin Moran. “And we like to showcase local people, and offer something a little different.”

That mission inspired Moran to call up his friend, stand-up comic Carolyn Busa. The Collingswood native—a fixture at Philadelphia stand-up shows as well as a performer at shows nationwide—immediately began recruiting fellow comedians.

Busa put together a 12-comedian roster for Friday’s show.

“People can expect a mix of stand-up, sketch comedy and stories,” she says. “Everyone does their own respective shows, so we’re not a troupe, but we’ll keep things moving along. It’ll be a lot of fun.”

Busa describes her own comedic stylings as sometime edgy, but never offensive. Her website touts her “awkwardly disarming stage presence,” which she says throws the audience off when she slips in a racy topic or two.

The rest of the comics have a wide range of material that will keep the audience laughing all night, Busa says. Besides Busa, the lineup includes Tommy Pancrazio, Ryan Carey, Mary Radzinski, John Kensil, Hillary Rhea, Rob Baniewicz, Camp Woods, Paul Easton, Nicole Yates, Andrew Foote and Ian David Vaflor. 

Several of those are natives of Collingswood, while the rest come from South Jersey or Philadelphia.

The stand-up acts will go on from 8 to 10 p.m. at Grooveground, 647 Haddon Ave., Collingswood. The event is free and Grooveground will offer its full menu of drinks and food.

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