Nick Cannon’s Fresh Faces Comedy Showcase Bursting with Talent

On June 30th Nick Cannon debuted his first Fresh Faces Comededy Showcase at Gotham Theatre in New York City. The Showcase featured Pete Davidson, Keith Alberstadt, Rob Wagman, Brandon ‘Buster’ Satterfield, Jordy Fox, Kyle Grooms and Jessica Kirson.

Nick played host and warm-up man for the night. He warmed up the crowd with jokes that for the most part that if you’ve saw him during his comedy tour earlier this year or watched his recently debuted Showtime comedy special Nick Cannon: Mr. Showbiz may have sounded familiar but still they still drew genuine laughs from the crowd.

One joke however that was fresh and quite the gut-buster was Nick detailing his first proud moment as a father. Nick tells how the Doctor pulls him aside following the birth of his twin son and daughter and explains that he has some unsettling news. His son Moroccan has an unusually large penis.

The first comedian to grace the stage following Nick’s warm-up was Keith Alberstat. He’s native New Yorker by way of North Caroline. Even though Keith is no newbie having appeared on Late Nite with David Letterman he still seems to be somewhat under the radar (or at least under mine as I’d never heard of him prior to the showcase). He got pretty steady laughs from the crowd beginning to end. From his set the jokes that stood out the most for me were a woman loses her son in the middle of Times Square and begins to call his name…Marco and the other being when people ask dumb questions. He even managed to a really funny bit surrounding the pronunciation of his last name. He’s definitely a comedian I’ll be keeping a look out for next time he’s in the area performing.

Next up to bat was 17 year-old Pete Davidson. He’s fairly new but has been featured in In Touch Weekly. I admit I was scared being the youngest on the stage he was going to totally choke. I’m so glad I was wrong. Pete displayed an audience savvy beyond his years. He managed to make his youth work to his advantage but still relatable for the 21+ crowd. Where as many young men boast about their huge penis size he made his less than impressive size the butt of the joke when his neighbor claims to have seen Pete’s sister (who’s away from home) naked vagina in the shower…unfortunately the vagina he saw belonged to Pete. He received resounding applause from the crowd at the end of his set. So impressive was his work onstage that Nick (Cannon) signed him to his entertainment company Ncredible making him the first comedian signed to the imprint.

Besides Late Night Buster another member of the 92.3 NOW family performed, the big daddy himself Rob Wagman, Cannon’s boss. Which as he put it means Nick’s a bitch in two relationships. Wagman’s style is largely self-deprecating, poking fun at everything from being the youngest of seven children to the fact that he’s often assumed to be gay. Usually one has to laugh at their bosses jokes because they’re their boss. In Wagman’s case Nick along with the rest of the audience laughed at them because he was actually funny.

Kyle Grooms is a seasoned comedian and has appeared on Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam and Last Comic Standing to name a few. His home state of NJ took the lead for his act him joking about the large amount of chemical plants that reside there, stating we breathe the s**t so others don’t have to. But the absolute star of his routine was his spot-on imitation of President Obama. He was an absolute great addition to the show and hopefully will appear again at one of the other future Fresh Faces showcases.

Closing out the show was Jessica Kirson. She was on fire from beginning to end eliciting non-stop laughter during her set. With her voice projections and hilarious facial expressions she reminded me somewhat of comedienne Judy Tenuta. Of all her jokes the one I loved the most was her bit about being a mother and how her daughter calls Mommy incessantly till she answers. It made me think of the hilarious Family Guy bit featuring Stewie and Lois. Jessica Kirson is pure, raw comedy.

If you missed the first Nick Cannon Comedy Showcase you can catch some of these amazingly talented comedians as well as other fresh faces at the next show which will be next month in New Jersey.