Comedians To Take Their Best Shot At 13th Comedy Madness Stand-up Tournament

Taking a page from the NCAA College Basketball Tournament's "March Madness," famed comedy venue Carolines on Broadway will present its 13th annual "Carolines Comedy Madness," a five-round comedy competition in which 64 comedians will go head to head with audience members deciding who advances to the next rounds and who will be crowned the tournament champion. "Carolines Comedy Madness" events will take place on March 5, 12, 19, 26 and 27, at 1626 Broadway, between 49th and 50th Streets, in New York City. Tip-off for rounds 1 - 4 is at 7:00 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. for the final round.

Tickets for all of the "Carolines Comedy Madness" shows are $15.00 per person, plus a two-beverage minimum. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting the Carolines website, at www.carolines.com. Reservations can be made by calling the Carolines Box Office at 212.757.4100.

Sixty-four of New York's best young comedians will be randomly pitted against one another in a series of one-on-one competitions. The first round of "Carolines Comedy Madness" will take place on Tuesday, March 5 when all of the 64 competitors will each perform one minute of stand-up. 32 comedians will advance to the second round on Tuesday, March 12, when each will perform two minutes of stand-up. The third round, taking place on Tuesday, March 19, will feature the "Sweet Sixteen," and fourth round on Tuesday, March 16 will feature the "Elite Eight," who will each perform three minutes of stand-up, with the "Final Four" advancing into the fifth and final round. The "Final Four" comedians will square off on Wednesday, March 27, with each performing seven minutes of stand-up. The last two advancing comedians will then square off with each perform ten minutes of stand-up, with the eventual winner being crowned.

"We're excited to bring back this great event, and are confident that it will continue to generate the same kind of thrills and cheers on the comedy stage as the college basketball tournament does on the hardwood," said Louis Faranda, talent producer for Carolines on Broadway and the New York Comedy Festival and the creator of "Carolines Comedy Madness." "This competition has become one of the city's most popular and successful annual comedy events."

Past winners of the competition are Julian McCullough (2007), Reese Waters (2008), Myq Kaplan (2009), Nate Bargatze (2010), Dan Soder (2011), Adam Newman (2012), Mark Normand (2013), Gary Vider (2014), Anthony DeVito (2015), Neko White (2016), Kerry Coddett (2017) and Napoleon Emill (2018).

The winner will receive a cash prize and a chance to perform as a regular at Carolines on Broadway.