2024 Best of Lake Erie: Laughs

True, it’s only 10 a.m. in Jamestown, New York, when I step inside the National Comedy Center.  But it feels like Saturday night in New York City. I’m ready to laugh! Overhead a lit-up jumbotron asks, “Whose In Da House?” And there’s a smiling pic of my face lit up on the screen with the words “Hailing from the Midwest,” along with headshots of my fellow fun visitors from around the country.

Armed with my Comedy Center wristband, I’ve logged in my comedy faves — a mix of old and new, including Johnny Carson and Jimmy Fallon, Friends and The Office and even Mickey Mouse.  I try to sneak a peek at who my teenage son and husband are picking. Gotta love state-of-the art technology that uses AI to customize your comedy style.

We enter a staged comedy production center equipped with a rotating television camera and monitors. Jay Leno is doing a monologue on the 2000 Bush-Gore voting debacle in Florida. The lady next to me is cracking up; laughter is contagious!

Around the corner, I grab a plastic pie in the “You’ve got to hand it to props” stand and place it on the electronic table. I’m in a fit of laughter watching pies launched in the face of Porky Pig and Jimmy Fallon on Saturday Night Live. My husband picks up a rubber chicken next. Try not to laugh at a rubber chicken, I dare you.

Being a comedian is not easy; I have newfound respect for them. The Comedy Center shows you just how hard it is to get a laugh.

Laugh Lesson 1: My husband and I square off in the Laugh Battle, and he doesn’t crack a smile. That is until, completely exasperated, I say, “I married a robot.” He laughs, but I still end up losing 1-5.

Laugh Lesson 2:  I love Lucy, but Lucy wouldn’t love my re-enactment of her famous chocolate factory scene. I couldn’t keep a straight face. Lucille Ball is a comedy genius. 

Lucille Ball’s hometown is Jamestown, and it was her wish to have a comedy center celebrating all comedians. The George Carlin exhibit has over 25,000 archived items spanning his 50-year comedy career on display, including awards, letters, arrest records and countless hours of video and audio recordings. Around the corner, check out Jerry Seinfeld’s “puffy” shirt. Other fun archived items include Betty White’s tracksuit and Lucy’s polka dot dress. 

Don’t leave without performing a famous, stand-up comedy sketch on stage. As they say in comedy, timing is everything. My timing was horrible, but timing my trip to include the world-class National Comedy Center? Perfect. It’s a comedy-filled romp for the whole family.