It’s not easy keeping a secret, especially when you’ve experienced the kind of success that Offline Comedy has recently.
The brainchild of former city councilmember Andrew Nosrati, Offline Comedy delivers secret, pop-up shows to fans throughout the region. You text your zip code to 209-266-4415 and you’ll be added to the Offline community. If you purchase a ticket to a particular event, you’ll be let in on the secret and given all the details on the morning of the performance.
Nosrati worked with veteran funnymen Taylor Evans, a Turlocker now living in Austin, Texas, and Modesto-based Marcus Peverill in shaping his comedy venture.
But this weekend, Offline Comedy is dropping the veil of secrecy for its upcoming shows at The Brick, 3020 Geer Rd. Brooklyn-born Eddie Pepitone will be the headliner on Saturday night, one day after Offline Comedy’s Valentine’s Day event.
“This is our first time announcing the headliner, because it’s a really big deal to have Eddie Pepitone,” said Nosrati, who performs his own stand-up material during Offline shows. “We want the people to know it’s an available opportunity, and don’t want a big name like that to go unrecognized.”
Pepitone was the subject of the 2012 documentary “The Bitter Buddha” which featured appearances from comedic heavyweights such as Sarah Silverman, Zach Galifianakis, Mark Maron, Patton Oswalt, B.J. Novak, and Dana Gould.
Pepitone’s 2020 special, “For the Masses” (available on Amazon Prime), was hailed by the New York Times as “smart comedy that aims for the gut” and labeled him “an overlooked master of the form.”
The laughs begin on Friday — Valentine’s Day — at 8 p.m. at The Brick. The show follows a 7 p.m. dinner that includes tri-tip, smoked chicken, baby potatoes, vegetables, salad, and a roll, catered by Farm Truck Catering. Drinks are on you, as it’s BYOB.
“It’s going to be a beautiful, elegant experience at a multipurpose space,” said Nosrati. “A high-end hotel lobby is what the aesthetic is.”
Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased by going to offlinecomedy.com or by texting your zip code to 209-266-4415. The texting option will get you a promotional code to save $5.
“That’s a really fair rate for a seat at a comedy show, a meal, and 90 minutes of comedy,” said Nosrati.
And, as always, no cell phones are allowed.
“Our mission is to take people off their phones and reconnect them with their humanity,” said Nosrati. “We do that one person at a time, and one room at a time. It’s a really fun, enlivening experience every time. We’d like to give it to everybody that we can.”
On Saturday night, Pepitone will headline the festivities, with multiple comics slated to perform. For details, visit offlinecomedy.com/shows.
