Showtime in Canton: Kevin Hart comedy tour coming to Hall of Fame Village on May 18

CANTON – Comedian Kevin Hart will perform May 18 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Hart, also a popular Hollywood actor, will bring his "Reality Check" tour to the venue, the Hall of Fame Village announced Monday.

“Kevin Hart's incredible career and success as a comedian and actor make him the perfect fit for our world-class venue at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium," Mike Levy, the Village's president of operations, said in a prepared statement. "Fans can look forward to an unforgettable night of laughs and entertainment, and we encourage everyone to get their tickets early due to high demand."

Hart already has been on tour overseas, including a Friday performance in Sakhir, Bahrain, and Saturday show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to his website. The funnyman returns to the United States for shows at Resorts World Las Vegas on March 17 and 18 and then in Honolulu before heading outside the country again with dates in Australia and Canada in March and April.

New show dates were posted on Hart's website on Monday; prior to Canton, he will perform in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Stark County tour stop will be followed by two shows at the Fallsview Casino Resort in at Niagara Falls.

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Tour dates continue through June with performances in Florida, Indiana and Maryland.

This is the second star comedian the Village has booked at Tom Benson Stadium. Last August, Dave Chappelle performed stand-up in front of a large crowd. The stadium holds about 23,000 for football games but less for concerts and comedians due to the stage placement.

Tonja Marshall, chief marketing officer for Visit Canton, said Hart's show is an example of how the venues at Hall of Fame Village host events well beyond sports and concerts.

"We're excited about the Kevin Hart announcement and eager for many new opportunities that lay ahead for our community," she said.

Visit Canton, which is the Stark County Convention & Visitors' Bureau, opened a new Welcome Center on Friday at the Hall of Fame Village to promote attractions throughout Stark County.

The welcome center is in the Fan Engagement Zone, which features retail and restaurant components of the Village entertainment campus, including a Don Shula's American Kitchen, scheduled to open in March. Other tenants will include The Brew Kettle craft brewery, a Pizza Oven restaurant, Topgolf Swing Suite, Smoosh Cookies, Build-A-Bear Workshop and a BetRivers sports betting site, which is expected to open this summer.

Construction on the Village's $100 million plus football-themed indoor water park started in December; work on an adjacent hotel is expected to begin in the spring. Attractions, including a zip line, sports dome and Ferris wheel-style ride, are built around the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Kevin Hart has starred in 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'

The Grammy and Emmy-nominated Hart was born and raised in Philadelphia, where he launched his career as a comedian during an amateur night at a local comedy club, the Village announcement said.

Hart has become a high-profile celebrity both through his joke telling and as an actor in films such as "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" (2017), "Jumanji: The Next Level," (2019), "Ride Along" (2014), "Fatherhood" (2021) and "The Man From Toronto" (2022). The entertainer also appears in television commercials, including for DraftKings.

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The comedian was awarded the "People's Choice Award" for Comedy Act of 2022 based on the "Reality Check" tour.

Hart is also chairman of Hartbeat, which merged his television and film production company with Laugh Out Loud, developing, producing and starring in feature films, television shows and podcasts for his various partners, which include Netfix, Peacock, Sirius XM and Audible.

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In 2020, Hart released his seventh stand-up special, which became Netflix's biggest comedy show of that year and earned him a Grammy nomination for “Best Comedy Album."

Hart also earned Emmy nominations for “Die Hart” in 2021 for “Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series,” along with an Emmy nomination for his Docu-series, “Don’t (expletive) This Up," the Village said in the announcement.

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Also a bestselling author, Hart is founding partner in the premium tequila brand Gran Coramino and the plant-based quick serve restaurant Hart House.

Tickets available for Kevin Hart Canton, Ohio show

Tickets go on sale for Hart's Canton show at 10 a.m. Friday at https://www.hofvillage.com/, https://kevinhartnation.com/ and https://www.ticketmaster.com/.

Ticket prices were not listed Monday on those websites. The Hall of Fame Village also can be reached at 330-458-9176.

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett.com

On Twitter @ebalintREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Kevin Hart Canton Ohio comedy show set at Hall of Fame Village