REVIEW: YUK YUK’S CABARET OPENING NIGHT!

Dave Foley

Last night was the official launch and opening night of Yuk Yuk’s Cabaret at The Rialto . Before rushing over to catch cocktail hour prior to the show, I was on air hosting  Mobtreal’s Comedy Corner on CKUT (90.3fm). I had Dan Derkson as my guest this week on Upstage, who was actually the first comic to perform on the brand new stage this past Wednesday night. Mark Breslin (owner and co-founder of the Yuk Yuk’s franchise), got the opportunity to indulge in a sampler platter of local comics, on Wednesday’s unofficial “Showcase” night.

So yeah, I finished my segment with Dan, strapped on my sparkly wedge heels and anxiously bolted over to The Rialto. I did my best social butterfly, wine drinking, mingling, and there was an exciting anticipation in the air. I had the chance to chat with CTV’s Christine Long, the host of the night Sebastien Bourgault, St.Leo comic “Heavy T”, Yuk Yuk’s Montreal general manager David Nankoff, and accidentally cracked a joke to Mark Breslin before really knowing who he was.

Everyone finally filtered downstairs, taking in the brand new room, and iconic brick wall sporting the Yuk Yuk’s logo. The night started fashionably late, and both   Nankoff and Breslin (who were like two peas in a pod) gave fun and heartfelt speeches to intro the show and welcome the full room. A special thanks was given from Nankoff to our Mobtreal founder Johanne Britton for her hard work as his kick-ass floor manager. (He may not have used those exact words). Breslin was super grateful, “We couldn’t have 17 locations without great people on the ground…It’s great to be back in Montreal!”.

Sebastien Bourgault was an amazing host, coming on stage with the energy of “the guy at the house party doing keg-stands” Wooooooo! Martha Chaves gets political, and even shared some beauty tips…”If you want to stop the signs of aging, die young!” Her delicate demeanour is perfectly paired with a razor sharp wit. Next up was Mike MacDonald. His performance was not only hilarious, but frank and truthful. Mike was battling Hepatitis C and had a liver transplant only 7 months ago. The Just For Laughs vet, said very honestly, “It’s a privilege to be here, to be anywhere!”

Then the dude headlining the night, formerly of Kids in the Hall, Dave Foley took to the stage. Foley was wearing some awesome hues of green and taught the audience about some unexpected topics: like pubic hair trends and science. I don’t want to give any spoilers, and he is performing three more shows this weekend. Saturday there will even be special guest Franco Taddeo on the early show and Ian Sirota on the late show.

There is still some minor construction to finish up at the venue…like adding stalls around the rest of the toilets in the ladies bathroom. Although, I must say that it has sparked some ideas about adopting a more social pubic restroom experience for women. I mean, guys get to chat at the urinal, but what do we have? Some zombie-like sign language under a stall door?  Yuk Yuk’s, I think you may be onto something here! For Tickets &

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