Comedy night to take place at Old Abilene Town Friday

Nov. 17—Three nationally known comedians are bringing their talents to Old Abilene Town Friday night. Taking the stage are Scott Shaffer, Paul Shirley and Jeremy Ricci for Night of Comedy at Alamo Saloon, an 18+ show.

"I've done comedy shows, comedy clubs and big venues, but I'm a small town kid at heart," Shaffer said. "So why not bring to fellow small towners?"

Scott Shaffer grew up in Caldwell, Kansas, about thirty miles south of Wichita, Kansas. He describes his comedy style as "I'm the youngest grandpa you'll ever meet." Shafer has been to Abilene once before for Old Abilene's first comedy show Aug. 27.

"He had a buddy in town who said we might want to get ahold of this guy. Shaffer said he just so happened to be coming through, so he put on the first show for us a couple months ago," said Michael Hook, development coordinator for Old Abilene. "That went pretty well. We're hoping to keep this like a tradition here, having different stand-up comedians coming though."

Shirley and Ricco are both Kansas natives as well. Shirley is from Meridan, and Ricci is from Manhattan.

"Outside of them being funny people, if you're going to be traveling around on the road with anyone, you might as well like them. While I know they're funny, I know their easy travel companions," Shaffer said

While Abilene is a one-time show, Shaffer said the group will be stopping in Caldwell next week for a show as well, and to look out for more one-night shows.

Shaffer has doen shows at The Icehouse in Pasadena, The Laugh Factory in Hollywood and Zanies in Nashville. He's opened for several high level comedians such as Nate Bargatze and Nikki Glaser, and performed at small local venues such as Legendz in Lake Havasu, Arizona, Petie's Place in Tarzana, California and The Rusty Nail in Hutchinson, Kansas. He was runner-up at the St. Louis Make Me Laugh Comedy Contest, and has won the Last Laffs Comedy Competition. His work can be found at irrelevantscott.com.

Paul Shirley is a former professional basketball player, having played for 11 teams across five countries. He's had two books published, "Can I Keep My Jersey?" and "Stories I Tell on Dates," and written articles for ESPN, FlipCollective.com and The Wall Street Journal. His talking experience includes discussing his book, adapting to change as a basketball player and how to improve at writing.

Ricci is a graphic designer, videographer, artist and comedian. Starting in 2013, he's been performing comedy sets across the midwest. He's Kansas State University's "Last Comic Standing" in 2016 and has organized the Laughapalooza Comedy Festival. His radio show, co-hosting with Blaine Worley, "This Week in History," is an award-winning show, earning recognition from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters. Most of his work can be found on his Instagram account @thejeremyricci.

Night of Comedy at the Alamo Saloon is Nov. 19, starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite for $20.