Wondering how to get your ha-ha on this weekend? Funny you should ask!
1. The Comedy Get Down Tour
Five funny men for one price – that’s the ticket for the Comedy Get Down Tour, featuring the combined laugh power of Cedrick the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley, George Lopez and Charlie Murphy. Griffin grew up in Kansas City before forging his successful stand-up comedy career, followed by high-profile stints in TV and movies, including the sitcom, “Malcom & Eddie,” and the starring role in the 2002 action comedy, “Undercover Brother.” Give it up for the hometown hero, whose support system should be out in the open at this show.
Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sprint Center, 1407 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $47.75, $63.75.
2. Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy
When two of America’s most popular stand-up comics team up, double the hilarity is bound to ensue. Jeff Foxworthy (“You might be a redneck if…”) and Larry the Cable Guy (“Git-R-Done”) have not only started their own satellite radio channel (“Jeff and Larry’s Comedy Roundup”), the team’s current “We’ve Been Thinking Tour” offers each in his own co-headlining set, with both rustic rib-ticklers together at the end. You might want to wear some padding on that funny bone.
Saturday, 5 and 8 p.m.; Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland, 1228 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $30-$59.50.
3. ‘You Can’t Take It with You’
This warmhearted stage comedy by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1937. A year later, its story of two young lovers trying to overcome the eccentricities of the intended bride’s family was adapted into a hit movie that won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. So you know its funny material that the New Theatre Restaurant is working with in its latest grub-and-guffaw production starring Jim O’Heir of “Parks and Recreation” sitcom fame. Another amusing plus: The local cast includes five of the New Theatre’s most beloved laugh-getters over the years: Cathy Barnett, Craig Benton, Deb Bluford, Dodie Brown and Jim Korinke. That’s enough expert comic timing in one place to start a school. Take notes!
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 7:35 p.m.; Sunday, 1:30 and 7:35 p.m.; New Theatre Restaurant, 9229 Foster St., Overland Park, Kan.; tickets: $24-$59.
4. Michael Winslow
Vocal sound-effects king Michael Winslow (“Police Academy I-V,” “Spaceballs”) can stupendously mimic Jimi Hendrix’s crazy guitar playing better than Hendrix could play crazy guitar. Exaggeration? Actually, it could be an understatement. Decide for yourself at any of Winslow’s weekend shows. His calculated cacauphony of amazing noises is woven into comedy bits that truly must be heard to be believed, and even then you might think there’s a machine backstage.
Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 7:45 and 9:45 p.m.; Stanford & Sons’ Comedy Club & Restaurant, 7328 W. 119th St., Overland Park, Kan.; tickets: $10-$75.
5. Gladfest
Camels – when they’re not spitting or biting – are sort of funny, don’t you think? And you on a camel? Even funnier. Give it a try at the neighborhood festival known as Gladfest. Better yet, talk one of your friends or family members into a camel ride, which, after all, isn’t available around these parts every day. Afterward, there may be regrets. Don’t forget to mind the hump. But you know what they say: There’s no such thing as a free laugh – unlike the gratis admission to Gladfest, where the family that rides a camel together wonders whose silly idea it was together.
Friday, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Linden Square, N.E. 70th St., Gladstone, Mo.; Sunday (carnival only), noon-4 p.m. (Gladstone City Hall parking lot, 7010 N. Holmes St.); admission: free.
6. Free State Comicon
We used to affectionately call them funny books. These days, however, comic books can go by fancier names like “graphic novel.” Whatever you call the sequential-art medium populated by countless beloved characters, from Archie to X-Men, comic books continue to entertain multiple generations of fans. More than 30 local comic creators will talk shop and share their talents, along with dozens of comic and toy dealers at the 10th annual Free State Comicon, whose farfetched mascot is once again radical Bleeding Kansas abolitionist John Brown. The poster/t-shirt for this year’s con depicts Brown in a “Star Wars” scene with Chewbacca at his side battling a host of Storm Troopers – yes, anything can happen in comics.
Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2110 Harper St., Bldg. 21, Lawrence, Kan.; admission: $5 (ages 12 and younger free).
