Boston Comedy Showcase tonight at Club Oberon

If you’re looking through the club listing for a comedy show tonight, don’t skip the Boston Comedy Showcase at Club Oberon. You won’t find a stronger line-up in the city – Joe Wong (two Letterman appearances, Ellen), Corey Manning (Jamie Foxx’s Laffapalooza), Mehran (who hosts his own monthly shows at Mottley’s and Tommy’s), Lady Vain (NE Def Comedy Jam Showcase), Dan Crohn (who produced the Doug Stanhope show at the Hard Rock last year), and Shereen Kassam (SlumDog Comedy Tour).

Kassam co-produced the show, inspired by a conversation with a friend who had never been to a comedy show. “I immediately started bragging about the pool of amazing, talented comics we have in the Boston area and how many of them are blowing up and moving to NYC and LA,” she says. “I convinced him that he would not be disappointed if he checked out a local comedy show, and I was right.”

Kassam and co-producer Peter Norris wanted to find Boston comedians who had already broken or were on the verge, trying to capture an audience that might not think of coming out to a comedy show. “The goal is to give the audience such a great show that they will not only remember the night and the talent, but also fall in love with comedy and become faithful patrons to the comedy scene,” says Kassam.

The plan is to host a showcase like this every month at Oberon, as Kassam points out there are many more comedians she’d like to feature. She’d like to showcase the diversity of talent Boston has to offer, something exemplified by tonight’s roster. “The comedians on the line-up are smart, funny, and hit on real things/situations that they have encountered; each of these comics pushes against the boundaries in a witty, but bright manner,” says Kassam. “This show will encourage people to feel comfortable stepping outside of what they are used to.”

A Swinging Supershow at Mottley's

Even in a flourishing economy, it can take a while for a comedy club to catch on, especially on the non-prime weekend nights. Which is why a night like Thursday at Mottley’s Comedy Club are so heartening to see.

Faneuil Hall was mostly dead Thursday night. A few straggling shoppers, a sparser than usual crowd gathered at the food court. Around the corner at Trinity, a handful of people watched Thursday night football (Raiders versus Chargers – why not just flp a coin for the winner?). But downstairs, in a small room that can hold about 90 people, co-owner Tim McIntire was giving the cash register a work-out with a nice, steady stream of people for Dan Sally and Andy Ofiesh’s Supershow, which they host every Thursday.

McIntire, Sally, and Ofiesh say that attendance has been spotty so far, but the place was roughly two thirds full Thursday, and they got to see a great show. Sally and Ofiesh developed their chemistry a few years ago hosting Thursdays at the Comedy Studio, and they haven’t lost a step with Supershow. They are loose and conversational, and like to tweak their audience a bit.

The pair started the show with their “mission statement, “ which included the promise “to go too far,” to “threaten nudity,” and, said Ofiesh, to have a “rape whistle talk.” “Very important to protect your ears while raping,” he said. And yes, they did make good on the nudity promise, at least partially, in a hypnotists bit later on.

The line-up was almost all spot on, including Jess Baade, Shereen Kassam, Renata Tutko, Jon Rineman, and special guest Brian Kiley, a Newton native and Conan O’Brien writer who is in town for next week’s tapings of the NESN Comedy All-Stars show at the Wilbur Theatre. Kiley writes some of the most efficient comic couplets in the business, and it’s always a pleasure to watch him work. (I’ve written about him for the Globe a couple of times – You can see the last one here). I have to admit I didn’t enjoy show-closer Paul Marino’s style (including his extended riff on Phil Collins), but I seemed to be in the minority at the club that night.

If you’re trying to figure out what to do with your Thursday, go see Supershow. It’s worth supporting.