Tropicana's Comedy Stop celebrates 25th anniversary

28 May 2008

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The Comedy Stop Cafe & Cabaret, Atlantic City's longest-running and most successful comedy venue, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this summer. Founder and producer Bob Kephart announced a summer-long celebration at The Comedy Stop, located in The Quarter at the Tropicana Casino and Resort. The events are scheduled to kick off Memorial Day Weekend and culminate with a grand performance show Labor Day Weekend.

The Labor Day Weekend Silver Anniversary Celebration Show will take place on Saturday, August 30 in the Tropicana Showroom. The event will feature ten nationally known comedians. Audience members will experience a walk down memory lane as the show reflects back over the 25 years of laughter and fun.

Atlantic City's own Butch Bradley will emcee the summer-long tribute. With his constant manic energy, Butch doesn't just warm-up an audience he sets them on fire. Butch started his comedy career as a founding member of the Boston Improv troupe "The ID" and also headlined at the national Improv festival in Minneapolis. Increasing attention spurred his solo stand-up career, and Butch now works all over the country. Bradley's dynamic upbeat humor and fast witted improve makes him popular and keeps his audience howling for more. Additionally, Butch has appeared on numerous television programs including: The Martin Short Show, VH1's The List, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, Comics unleashed with Byron Allen, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, HBO, Comedy Central's Premium Blend & Grounded 4 Life. Butch was also a featured comic at the 2001 Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. Most recently Butch just returned from the 2006 Montreal comedy Festival performing on the Gala Show with Jason Alexander. Butch can be seen live at the Laugh Factory or in the documentary film Open Mic starring Richard Jeni, Dave Chappelle, Tony Rock, and Shawn Wayans. Most recently, Butch performed on five USO Tours in Afghanistan and Iraq supporting our troops.

The Comedy Stop is no stranger to big-time comedians. Kephart is credited with nurturing -- and in some cases even discovering -- some of the most famous comedians working today. Tim Allen, Rosie O'Donnell, Drew Carey, Brett Butler, Lewis Black and Richard Lewis are just some of the stars who got their start on The Comedy Stop's stage. Perhaps Kephart's biggest find was when he hosted a talent search and discovered Ray Romano, who later went on to become one of comedy's most successful sitcom stars.

After a quarter-century of laughs, The Comedy Stop continues to be the leader in finding and cultivating the best comedic talent in the country. Kephart also has a showroom in Las Vegas, and has maintained its cutting-edge swagger by evolving with time.

In fact, in 2004, Kephart launched a $3 million capital investment and relocated The Comedy Stop to The Quarter in the Tropicana. The name also changed to include Cafe & Cabaret, signaling a new trend in nightlife. Guests can enjoy the best in comedy along with great cuisine. The new Comedy Stop can accommodate 300 people and is the perfect venue for private parties. There is a full bar as well as a menu offering a full range of coffee drinks, from lattes to espressos. As part of the upgrades, the venue was adorned with seven plasma screens and state of the art lighting capabilities and audio/visual equipment.

The Comedy Stop's perpetual success is a direct result of Kephart's deep commitment to continually finding the top comedic talent in the country. Kephart has always been known as a visionary, dating from when he first opened the doors to The Comedy Stop. He launched The Comedy Stop in 1983, in the dead of winter, knowing that Atlantic City's other entertainment venues would be dark. Many thought he was crazy for not choosing summer, Atlantic City's busy season. But The Comedy Stop was sold out that first weekend. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Every week three new headliner comics from across the country are featured. Showtimes are Sunday - Thursday, 9:00 PM; Friday & Saturday, 9:00pm & 11:15pm. The Comedy Stop features The Lucky "7" Breakfast Buffet for $7.77. Tickets and information for all shows, including the Silver Anniversary Celebration Show can be purchased by calling 609-348-0920 or by visiting the Comedy Stop web site at Comedystop.com. Ticket prices for the August 30, 2008 Silver Anniversary Show are $65, $55 and $45. Ticket prices for the Comedy Stop Cafe and Cabaret are $23 Sunday - Friday and $26 on Saturdays.