Sebastian Maniscalco is the 2016 Just for Laughs Stand Up Comedian of the Year, and is quickly becoming one of the most sought after funny men in the business today. A frequent guest on networks such as Showtime and Comedy Network and host of the wildly popular podcast, "The Pete and Sebastian Show", Maniscalco has announced a performance at the Fox Theatre on Friday, May 19 at 7 p.m. in support of his newest comedy special Why Would You Do That?
Tickets go on sale Friday, September 30 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at OlympiaEntertainment.com, the Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charge) at all Ticketmaster locations and Ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets by phone, call
(800) 745-3000. For additional information, call
(313) 471-6611.
Saying what we're all thinking has always been Sebastian Maniscalco's specialty. Except when he says it, it's a whole lot funnier, and that has fans across North America showing up in droves for his shows and millions tuning in for his network specials.
After more than a dozen sold-out performances in New York City's comedy circuit in the last year alone, the Chicago-born-and-bred turned Los Angeles native tapped Manhattan as the backdrop for his latest comedy special on Showtime,
Sebastian Maniscalco: Why Would You Do That? Maniscalco
is the star and executive producer of the special, which was filmed at the historic Beacon Theatre and premiers Oct. 1. This highly-anticipated new hour of skepticism follows up Sebastian's 2014 Showtime standup special and DVD
Aren't You Embarrassed? in which he offered up his witheringly sarcastic and exasperated take on modern behavior and etiquette. As the
Dallas Observer noted, "Much of the material for his three comedy specials and tours comes from his astonishment with modern society's unspoken rules and the juxtaposition of current culture against his upbringing in a hardworking, 'half-Sicilian, half-Italian' immigrant family." Sebastian shares, "Those values ... have been a catalyst for my comedy. I'm like, 'Wow, I guess a lot of people didn't have this type of upbringing' ... that old world technique of, you know, nothing's given to you, you've gotta work for everything you've done."
Still sporting his Chicago accent despite leaving the Windy City in 1998 to follow his dream in Los Angeles, it wasn't until Sebastian captured the attention of award-winning actor and entertainer
Vince Vaughn, who selected him to be one of four featured comedians in the critically acclaimed film "
Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show," that his comedy career began to explode.
Since then, the Year and 2014 American Comedy Award nominee for Best Club Comedian has established an avid fan following via national late night television appearances on
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,
Late Night with Seth Meyers,
Conan, and more as well as an appearance in
Jerry Seinfeld's
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Sebastian is a popular guest on groundbreaking podcasts "WTF with Marc Maron" and "The
Joe Rogan Experience" while starring in his own wildly popular "The Pete and Sebastian Show" podcast every Friday night.
