Six comics walk into a Renton bar. A white dude, a fat chick and a Jewish guy. Plus a Chinese guy, a Mexican guy and a bald guy. All will walk out of the bar, but only one will walk out the winner of the Renton Comedy Contest. Who will it be?
Hint: the winner’s jokes included crossing borders and being the Mexican food in Alaska.
That’s right, the winner of the first ever Renton Comedy Contest at DC’s Bar and Grill was …. the Mexican!
“I feel magnificent. I feel great. I feel fantastic,” Rodger Lizaola said after stuffing his $150 in winnings into his pocket and slipping into the grand prize — a skintight I heart Renton T-shirt complemented by a tiara and a pink Bachelorette sash.
It took 21 minutes of jokes and two audience votes for Lizaola of Seattle to come out on top during the recent sold-out competition.
He was up against local comics. But no amateurs.
The white dude — OK, the opening white dude — has performed at the Paramount and Moore theaters. The fat chick stars in the Too Fat Too Furious Tour and is about to shoot a new TV show. The Jewish guy worked for National Lampoon Radio. The Chinese guy has performed at the Moore. And the bald guy was a DJ on KGRG’s “Morning’s with Bill.” Lizaola is no amateur himself. He opened for the Backstreet Boys.
He and the Chinese guy — Xung Lam — won the most votes during the contest’s first round. That’s when each audience member chose his or her favorite two comics. Each comic had six minutes on stage.
All six performers earned laughs.
As host and producer Adam Norwest said, “The audience was right there the whole time.”
The opening white dude — Dan Carroll of Seattle — talked about his easy life as the white son of a judge.
The fat chick — Susan Jones of Tacoma — riffed about life as a “fatty.” She recently got engaged, she said. The colors for the wedding? Sour cream and onion.
The Jewish guy — Toby Brown of Seattle — said he was going to start making Jewish porn.
“I’m going to call it hard bargain,” he said. “No sex, only savings.”
Xung Lam of Seattle joked about life as a short Chinese guy. He said he wants to open a small men’s clothing store inside Big and Tall.
“We’d make tents out of their khakis,” he said.
Like Lam, many of Lizaola’s jokes were about his ethnicity. He started by saying he couldn’t stay long because he had to get back to the kitchen.
The bald guy stuck with the self-deprecating theme. Aaron Flett — stage name Riggs — said he was glad the holidays were over because he got a Chia Pet for Christmas. The worst gift for a bald man.
Guest comic Tommy Savitt of Los Angeles entertained the crowd while the first round’s votes were tallied. He and Lizaola will return to DC’s March 19.
“I feel like one of the two prettiest girls at the prom,” Lam said after the tallies.
Both he and Lizaola then performed an additional 15 minutes.
“I did all my good jokes. What am I going to do now?” Lizaola asked the crowd.
But he and Lam filled their time — with more Mexican and Chinese jokes, and some other varieties, too.
This time the audience voted by clapping. The winner was the comic with the loudest claps — Lizaola.
Still, Lam said he felt like a partial winner.
“I am honored,” he said. “I feel like the Hillary Clinton of comedy.”
Maybe next year Lam will feel like the Barack Obama of comedy.
The contest’s success ensures it will be back a second year.
That’s good news not only for area comics, but for Rentonites hungry for laughs. Rentonites like Rob and Bonnie Nichols of the Highlands, just two faces in the recent crowd watching the contest.
“I love it,” Bonnie said of the contest. “I think it’s a great idea for downtown Renton.”
COMEDY NIGHT MARCH 19
Renton Comedy Contest winner Rodger Lizaola will open for Tommy Savitt during Comedy Night at DC’s Bar and Grill March 19 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5. DC’s hosts Comedy Night every third Thursday of the month. DC’s is at 907 S. Third St. For more information, visit www.dcsbarandgrill.com or call 425-255-2511.
