{"id":45141,"date":"2026-01-22T12:14:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T17:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=45141"},"modified":"2026-01-22T15:04:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:04:28","slug":"on-stage-top-comic-john-poveromo-brings-show-to-candlelight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=45141","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Top comic John Poveromo brings show to Candlelight"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
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John Poveromo. Photo by Johanna Lefever.<\/p><\/div>\n

In Italy, Poveromo is known as a village of 200 inhabitants in the municipality of Marina di Massa in the province of Massa-Carrara. In the resort, there are numerous pine forests and a rich Mediterranean scrub.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In America, John Poveromo is known as one of the country\u2019s most talented standup comedians.<\/div>\n
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Poveromo has built up a strong local following based on his \u201cCandlelight Comedy Club\u201d shows at the Candlelight Theater (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a>) .<\/div>\n
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On January 22, it\u2019s time for the January edition of \u201cCandlelight Comedy Club\u201d at the venue just over the Pennsylvania-Delaware state line \u2013 a venue that features ample free parking.<\/div>\n
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Poveromo is this this month\u2019s headline act with Joanne Filian as the opening act and Katrina Braxton as MC.<\/div>\n
In addition to his work as an in-demand standup headline act, Poveromo is also\u00a0host of the popular podcast \u201cDystopia Tonight with John Poveromo.\u201d<\/div>\n

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In Italy, Poveromo is characterized by long beaches. In America, Poveromo is a resident of Long Beach Island.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe podcast has become big,\u201d said Poveromo, during a phone interview Tuesday night from his New Jersey home in Long Beach Island.<\/div>\n
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The show was conceived during the pandemic, when comedians such as\u00a0Poveromo\u00a0were brainstorming ways to adapt and reinvent themselves.<\/div>\n
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It started as comics sitting around shooting the breeze (Tom Papa, Judy Gold), and has expanded to include actors (Megan Cavanagh, Ed Begley Jr., Ed Asner!), musicians (Art Alexakis from Everclear, Marlana Sheetz of Milo Greene), and visual artists (comic book artist John Romita Jr. and Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist Steve Breen), and comedy legend Lewis Black.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m also working on a book about the podcast,\u201d said Poveromo. \u201cIt looks at interviews from the podcast. We\u2019ve had so many great people on the podcast.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt also looks at the podcast\u2019s background — how it started during the pandemic. Between the lockdown and the political landscape, the headlines read like satire. It\u2019s a dystopian state.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Poveromo cited this as part of the book proposal: \u201cEvery generation has its soundtrack, its storytellers, and its scars. Ours just happens to live in an era where headlines read like satire and the future feels uncertain at best. Dystopia Tonight gathers the voices of comedians, musicians, scientists, and cultural icons who remind us that humor, music, and art aren\u2019t just distractions. They\u2019re survival tools. This is a book about laughter in the ruins, and the ways we carry each other through the dark.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The book seems like a natural extension of the podcast.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI was approached by a literary agent to write a book,\u201d said Poveromo. \u201cFrom the beginning, I wanted to put a book together about the interviews curated by me.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve had entertainers, politicians, an astronaut, comedians, actors, activists and geo-political analysts. There have been over 300 episodes so far.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cDystopia Tonight with John Poveromo\u201d has drawn praise from across the entertainment industry from comedians, such as Paul Reiser, Robert Klein and Lewis Black, \u00a0to musicians ranging from Glen Phillips, the lead\u00a0singer\u00a0of\u00a0Toad The Wet Sprocket, Devo\u2019s Gerald\u00a0Casale, and Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins\u2019, Melissa Auf Der Maur\u00a0along with\u00a0legendary actors like Ed\u00a0Begley Jr., Tim Matheson and Ernie Hudson.<\/div>\n
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According to Paul Reiser, \u201cJohn is smart, funny, and easy to\u00a0talk to. We went about an hour over because I was\u00a0enjoying myself too much to pull the plug.\u201d<\/div>\n
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DEVO fans will appreciate this quote from the band\u2019s Gerald Casale — \u201cJohn is whip-smart and the rapid-fire mix of humor and insight was a welcome dip into the big Spud Fryer\u201d<\/div>\n
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Born in Brooklyn and raised in Toms River (N.J.),\u00a0Poveromo\u00a0gravitated toward humor ever since he was a youngster.<\/div>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t hang out in the music scene,\u201d said\u00a0Poveromo.\u00a0\u201cI was much more interested in stand-up. For me, humor was a way to cope with stuff. I saw grownups coping with things with humor.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI got into Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser and Ellen and found out they all started with stand-up. And I liked stand-ups because they told it like it was.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Poveromo\u00a0has written comedy for shows on HBO and VH1, as well as his own book, \u201cDrawings From a Nobody,\u201d which features his comic-strip style drawings of scenes from everyday life.<\/div>\n
Poveromo, a veteran and versatile comedian, is likely to change his set on the spot based on the crowd and whatever is on his mind.<\/div>\n
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His perfect blend of self-deprecation and optimism makes him a dynamic and unpredictable performer who is both engaging and fun to watch as he struggles to make sense of himself and the world around him.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy comedy is sharp and socially aware but still very human,\u201d said Poveromo, who has also written for a variety of shows, including ESPN\u2019s Sports Nation, Joy Behar\u2019s Say Anything on HLN, The Independents, and CNN Newsroom.<\/div>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny and thoughtful. I talk about family. I talk about everything. Any good comic reads the room. I\u2019m very aware of the audience.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI know when to improvise. Every one of my shows is unique. It\u2019s very conversational \u2013 and the punch line is always different.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Poveromo recently performed at the National Comedy Center\u2019s annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival where he did stand up and a bunch of live podcast episodes from the set of \u201cI Love Lucy\u201d which can now be watched on YouTube.<\/div>\n
He also stays very busy with live performances.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI do about 200 standup shows a year,\u201d said Poveromo. \u201cThe first time I played at Candlelight was 2007 or 2008. I really enjoy doing shows there. Joanne Filian, who is from Nutley, New Jersey, comes with me every time.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Poveromo\u00a0has already started his schedule of live shows for 2026 and now is headed to the stage at Candlelight for another mid-winter show.<\/div>\n
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Video link for John\u00a0Poveromo — https:\/\/youtu.be\/lu1EKaVuTI8<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $40 and include complimentary light fare buffet,\u00a0cash bar, and free parking.\u00a0Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.<\/div>\n
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\"\"Also at the Candlelight Dinner Theater, this will be the first full weekend of the venue\u2019s first production of 2026 \u2013<\/div>\n
\u201cThe Producers.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Producers\u201d\u00a0is a\u00a0musical comedy\u00a0with music and lyrics by\u00a0Mel Brooks\u00a0and a book by Brooks and\u00a0Thomas Meehan. It is adapted from Brooks’s\u00a01967 film of the same name.<\/div>\n
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The story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich by fraudulently overselling interests in a\u00a0Broadway\u00a0musical designed to fail. Complications arise when the show is a surprise hit.<\/div>\n
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The humor of\u00a0\u201cThe Producers\u201d\u00a0draws on exaggerated accents, caricatures of\u00a0Jews,\u00a0gay\u00a0people and\u00a0Nazis, and many\u00a0show business in-jokes<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The original\u00a0Broadway\u00a0production opened on April 19, 2001, starring\u00a0Nathan Lane\u00a0and\u00a0Matthew Broderick, and\u00a0ran for 2,502 performances, winning a record-breaking 12\u00a0Tony Awards.It spawned a successful\u00a0West End\u00a0production running for just over two years, national tours in the U.S. and U.K., many productions worldwide and a\u00a02005 film version.<\/div>\n
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The show is running now through February 22.<\/div>\n
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Tickets, which include dinner and show, are $77.50 for adults and $35 for children (ages 4-12). \u201cShow Only\u201d tickets, which have limited availability, cost $35.<\/div>\n
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Another popular and familiar show is running now through February 15 at People\u2019s Light (39 Conestoga Road, Malvern,\u00a0peopleslight.org<\/a>) \u2013 \u201cSteel Magnolias.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cSteel Magnolias\u201d is a hilarious and heart-wrenching American classic.<\/div>\n
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The reigning ladies of a small Louisiana parish spend Saturday mornings at Truvy Jones’ beauty parlor. With help from aspiring beautician Annelle, Truvy doles out gossip, wisecracks, and hairspray to “grande dame” Miss Clairee, the lovable curmudgeon Ouiser, queen bee M’Lynn, and M’Lynn’s vivacious daughter Shelby.<\/div>\n
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Six unforgettable women command the stage in this hilarious and heart-wrenching masterpiece, starring People\u2019s Light icons Janis Dardaris, Claire Inie-Richards, Teri Lamm, Susan McKey, and Marcia Saunders, under the direction of Abigail Adams.<\/div>\n
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Video link for People\u2019s Light — https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zICXuBNoPuY<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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\u201cSteel Magnolias\u201d will run now through February 15 on the Steinbright Stage at People\u2019s Light.<\/div>\n
Ticket prices start at $59.<\/div>\n
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Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a>) will present Sugar Mountain \u2013 A Tribute to Neil Young on January 23.<\/div>\n
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Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) is hosting Kater Barbato with Skyler Cumbia and Julia Webb on January 24.<\/div>\n
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Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) will host AC Steel & the Perpetrators on January 22, the Mike Montray Band on January 23 and The Wendy Logan Band and Joey Stout asn the Big notes on January 24.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times In Italy, Poveromo is known as a village of 200 inhabitants in the municipality of Marina di Massa in the province of Massa-Carrara. In the resort, there are numerous pine forests and a rich Mediterranean scrub. In America, John Poveromo is known as one of the country\u2019s most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[6518,11359,15348,11369],"class_list":["post-45141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-john-poveromo","tag-steel-magnolias","tag-the-producers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45141"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45147,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45141\/revisions\/45147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}