When the real world gets you down this summer, and you need a little bit of comic relief, you are so in luck as this is shaping up to be the funniest summer that San Diego has ever heard.
Paula Poundstone: Comedy veteran Paula Poundstone will be on hand at Anthology (1337 India St. in downtown) for a one-night, two-show appearance. July 2; anthologysd.com; 619-595-0300
Laugh Out Loud: Shawn Pelofsky, Vicki Barbolak, Justin Martindale and Jackie Monahan are the four comedians poised to make San Diego Laugh Out Loud during their headlining Birch North Park Theatre (2891 University Ave., in North Park) performances for A Comics’ Benefit for FilmOut. July 9; filmoutsandiego.com
Stand Up For Equality: The Birch North Park Theatre will also serve as ground zero for more laughter with the HRC’s Stand Up For Equality showcasing everyone’s favorite funny lesbian, Suzanne Westenhoefer, and hosted by RuPaul’s Drag Race alumnus D.J. Pierce aka Shangela.
Chelsea Lately resident homosexual Guy Branum will be providing the testosterone with his own blend of telling it like it is, like lookin’ for love in all the wrong places, or, as it’s more commonly known, craigslist. July 15; sandiego.hrc.org
Ross Mathews: Another one of Chelsea’s minions, Ross Mathews will be at this year’s Pride festival. The former Tonight Show intern will take to the main stage to not only perform as a very entertaining act, he will also be pulling double duty as an emcee. Work it out, Ross! July 16; sandiegopride.org
Chelsea Handler: Speaking of E!’s No. 1 show … without question, Chelsea Handler is late night TV’s reigning queen of bitchy barbs, celebrity critiques and apparently being a big ole liar, as is evidenced in the recent bestseller Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me.
The Chelsea Lately personality will be joined onstage by Round Table regulars during her comedic rants at Pechanga Casino and Resort (45000 Pechanga Parkway in Temecula). Aug. 6; pechanga.com
Margaret Cho: If you have been living under a gay rock, then you may not know that Margaret Cho is one of the scheduled performers that are headlining Pride. The outspoken comedian will give festivalgoers her take on recent media events, including “Weiner Gate,” and a number of LGBT causes that are the epitome of the adage “laughter is the best medicine.” July 16; sandiegopride.org
Wendy Liebman: Wendy Liebman has come a long way from the days when she put on a comedy show in her basement as a child in Long Island, New York. She will be headlining at Flicks (1017 University Ave., in Hillcrest), and will engage audiences with what she’s learned during her 20-year-old career. July 21; sdflicks.com
Daniel Tosh: Daniel Tosh brings his is-he-or-isn’t-he type of humor to Copley Symphony Hall (1245 Seventh Ave., in downtown) with his Tosh Tour On Ice. The host of Comedy Central’s Tosh.0 has made a name for himself by showing videos on a weekly basis that he skewers to perfection, adding a sprinkle of sexual ambiguity. Aug. 20; sandiegosymphony.org
Laugh Out Proud: If you are looking to laugh after the warm glow of summer has faded, there are a few options left open to you. Although there will be no show for July, Martini’s Above Fourth (3940 Fourth Ave., in Hillcrest) has been offering the Fourth Avenue set a way to laugh every month with their Laugh Out Proud series, held every second Thursday of the month. martinisabovefourth.com
Live Comedy Live: You can also get your guffaw on every Monday night at Bourbon Street’s Live Comedy Live (4612 Park Blvd., in University Heights), which affords audience members an intimate setting to see the going-for-comedy-gold performers in action. bourbonstreetsd.com
