Comedic Magician Amazing Johnathan, Lynne Koplitz Set for Side Splitters in Tampa, 3/7-9 & 3/13-16

Side Splitters Comedy Club in Tampa, celebrating 20 years of bringing laughter to the bay, will welcome Amazing Jonathan, March 7-9 and Lynne Koplitz, March 13-16, 2013. The club is located at 12938 North Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, Fla. For more information, call 813.960.1197 or visit www.SideSplittersComedy.com.

Appearing this weekend: AMAZING JOHNATHAN March 7 - 9
The Amazing Johnathan is an eccentric comic magician whose bizarre humor and unscripted antics have earned him widespread recognition as one of the most original and unique performers today.

Starting his professional career as a street performer in San Francisco, Johnathan turned his boyhood hobby of magic into a full-time job. After polishing his act on Fisherman's Wharf in the late '70's, he moved onto nightclubs and colleges in the '80's.

The Amazing Johnathan has performed for audiences all over the world, including countless dignitaries and high-profile officials like President Ronald Reagan and the president of France. His fan base stretches across the globe from the U.S. to the U.K., Europe, South America and Australia, where he is a household name.

During the last 25-plus years of his career, Amazing Johnathan has appeared on numerous television shows including Comedy Central's Lounge Lizards and Premium Blend shows, F/X's The X Show, Fox's Comic Strip Live, The Arsenio Hall Show, HBO's Young Comedians Special, Late Night with David Letterman, Entertainment Tonight and The Wayne Brady Show, as well as television specials such as NBC's World's Greatest Magic II and The World's Wildest Magicians, ABC's Caesars Palace 30th Anniversary Special, Fox's Champions of Magic, Comedy Central Presents, American Airlines' CBS Eye on America, the Travel Channel's Amazing Vacation Homes, and The Greatest Magic Tricks In the Universe...Ever on England's Ch. 5 UK.

In 2002, The Amazing Johnathan Show landed in Las Vegas at the Golden Nugget for a two-week engagement. Johnathan shocked everyone by selling out the entire run and the Nugget quickly offered him multi-million dollar, two year deal. Being downtown and not on the strip, nobody could believe that anyone could make the place jump again. During the next two years he changed the casino's clientele to a younger, more hip crowd and brought in more people to the showroom then Sinatra. The Review Journal nicknamed Johnathan, "The Unlikely Savior of Downtown."

Johnathan moved to the strip after receiving a more lucrative offer from the Flamingo. After one year, when his contract was due for renewal, the Nugget struck back and the MGM Grand/Mirage offered Johnathan one of the biggest deals ever made if he returned to the Nugget. With or without the money, he would have. It was like his second home.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has given Amazing Johnathan much praise, by including him on the coveted "Best of Las Vegas" list, awarding him "Best Comedian of the Year" for 2002 and nominating him in 2003. The Las Vegas Weekly Reader's Choice Awards recognized him as "Best Local Villain" in 2004 and 2005. He is also a three-time winner of the International Magic Award for "Best Comedy Magician."

Johnathan has now been headlining in Las Vegas for a record-breaking 11 years. After the Nugget was sold, AJ moved back to the strip and played for years at the famous "Congo Room" at the Sahara, which over the years was the home of Johnny Carson, Jack Benny, and The Beatles.

In 2008 Johnathan took his show to The Harmon Theater, next to planet Hollywood. With him always is his whacked out assistant Psychic Tanya, She's the energetic and uproarious blonde who supports his act with silly banter and spontaneous hilarity. This comic partnership adds a hysterical spark to Amazing Johnathan's already off-the-wall production.

Working permanently in Las Vegas doesn't allow Johnathan time to tour or pursue TV specials, things that are vital to the longevity of an act. Thankfully Johnathan has a huge cult following of hard core fans and they always seem to be there for him. A few years ago when comedy Central had people vote for the Top 10 Comedian, Johnathan made the list. It wasn't long after that CC figured out who to give their coveted one-hour special to.

Johnathan got busy and presented his fans with almost an hour of new material. The special was aptly titled, "Wrong on Every Level.." The old fans love it and it also gathered a whole new generation of fans.

Another show is currently getting seen on is A&E's "Mindfreak," with Criss Angel. The two are best friends and have been working together on a new project called; "Psych" that will be out this summer.

Johnathan's biggest and latest project is a documentary about his experiences on the road and his odd rise to fame in Las Vegas. This will take him back on the road for the first time in 11 years to play some of his favorite comedy clubs. His Vegas show will be dark for one weekend each month. So, if you have plans to see Johnathan in Vegas, make sure you check the tour schedule on this website. Who knows, he may be coming to you this time.

Appearing next weekend: LYNNE KOPLITZ March 13 - 16
Lynne is a graduate of Troy State in Alabama. She moved to New York with theatre on her mind but turned to stand-up comedy after trying it on a whim. Now, she is one of America's most sought after female comics - regularly headlining at major comedy clubs and colleges nationally.

Lynne's one-woman show Lynne Koplitz: Functionally Disfunctional premieres this Spring at NYC's Beckett Theatre, and you will be able to see her co-starring alongside Joan River's in We's new reality series Mother Knows Best. Most recently, Lynne was seen starring Dina on IFC's semi-scripted comedy series Z Rock and alongside Cheri Oteri as Fran on AMC's interstitial web series Life Coach. Lynne has been featured on Tru TV's The World's Dumbest Criminals, TBS's Bitcoms, and in a national commercial campaign for Midol. Lynne had her own Comedy Central Presents... ½ hour special, and co-hosted the syndicated TV talk show Life & Style (w/ Kimora Lee Simmons and Jules Asner).

She has also performed at HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival and on The Nasty Show at the Montreal Comedy Festival. Lynne was the host of the popular TV dating show Change of Heart and the cooking show How To Boil Water on The Food Network.

Among her other many television appearances are CBS's Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, and The Greatest Joke Ever Told (with Lewis Black) for The History Channel. She has had development deals for new sitcoms with NBC, 20th Century Fox and Carsey-Werner Productions/Warner Television. She
currently lives in Greenwich Village in NYC with her Yorkie Aldo.