The Daily Show’s

ROY WOOD JR.

hosts

Boston Pizza presents

Just For Laughs Comedy Tour

20th anniversary edition

starring Malik Elassal, Joyelle Nicole Johnson and Arthur Simeon

TICKETS ON-SALE Friday, August 25 @ 10:00 AM LOCAL TIME*

Montreal, Tuesday, August 22, 2023 – Just For Laughs takes great pride in celebrating the 20th anniversary of its iconic cross-Canada tour with the announcement of the Boston Pizza presents Just For Laughs Comedy Tour hosted by The Daily Show’s Roy Wood Jr.

Fresh off a stellar performance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Roy Wood Jr. will headline an incredible line-up of some of the most hilarious and diverse comedians including Lebanese-Canadian comedian Malik Elassal, Critics Choice Award nominee Joyelle Nicole Johnson and Just For Laughs Festival favourite Arthur Simeon. Together, these comedians will visit 16 prestigious theatres across the country starting November 2, 2023 in Moncton, NB and wrapping up in Vancouver, BC on November 25, 2023.

“For the past 20 years, Just For Laughs has curated some incredible lineups for this highly anticipated annual event that has brought a variety of comedians and comedy to Canadians across the country,” says Christine Melko Ross, VP of Operations for Just For Laughs. “As one of Just For Laughs’ New Faces in 2006, we’re excited to have Roy not only helm this special 20th anniversary edition but to continue the story of bringing Canadians some of comedy’s brightest up and coming talent. We are also excited to announce our incredible partnership with Boston Pizza for a second consecutive year.”

Tickets go on sale Friday, August 25 at 10:00 AM local time (*noon in Halifax).

Please note that due to the on-going wildfires, tickets for the Kelowna, BC performance will go on-sale at a later date.

About Roy Wood Jr.

Roy Wood Jr. is an Emmy-nominated comedian, writer, producer, actor, radio personality, and podcaster primarily known for his stand-up comedy and work as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show since 2015.

Roy collaborates on two Comedy Central podcasts, Roy’s Job Fair and Beyond the Scenes. In 2017, he was named the host of Comedy Central’s This Is Not Happening. He has performed several stand-up specials on Comedy Central. His second stand-up special, Roy Wood Jr.: No One Loves You, remains Comedy Central’s highest-rated original stand-up premiere.

Forbes declared he is “One of comedy’s best journalists,” Entertainment Weekly has described his thought-provoking comedy as “. . . charismatic crankiness. . .” and Variety Magazine named him “One of 10 Comics to Watch in 2016.”

During the pandemic, Roy has spent time raising money for the displaced staff of comedy clubs through tipyourwaitstaff.com and Laugh Aid. In his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, his philanthropic endeavors include supporting Workshops, Inc., which enriches lives by helping people with disabilities and other employment barriers achieve their vocational potential. The DUBS Baseball Academy is an investment in sports to change lives. STAIR of Birmingham, where tutoring empowers students to read better and dream bigger. Also, I See Me, Inc., where the mission is to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline by increasing the literacy rates in children of color by engaging them in the literature that reflects their culture and image.

About Malik Elassal

Malik Elassal is an Lebanese-Canadian actor, writer, and comedian who uses his ability to connect with diverse audiences to find humor in the universal human experience as well as his own. In the past few years, Malik won Top Comic in his home city of Calgary, recorded sets for television at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and CBC's New Wave of Standup, and performed the titular track of the Just For Laughs originals album ‘Yeehaw Hell Yeah’.

In 2022, he was named one of the New Faces at Just For Laughs in Montreal and returned to the Festival in 2023 as part of the prestigious Just For The Culture Show.

About Joyelle Nicole Johnson

Joyelle Nicole Johnson is a comedian and writer who brings joy to the stage. Joyelle made her network TV debut on Late Night with Seth Meyers and more recently performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon twice in one year. Her first stand-up special Love Joy is available on Peacock. It was nominated for a Critics Choice Award, and is executive produced by Jimmy Fallon. She was a staff writer for HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay and has done punchup for Broad City as well as Abbi and Ilana’s animated Comedy Central pilot Mall Town. She co-wrote a digital series for Illuminative, which she also stars in. Her debut comedy album Yell Joy! was released on Juneteenth 2021. She was the warm up comic for Hasan Minhaj’s talk show Patriot Act on Netflix and the permanent guest host for the Sirius XM radio show Godfrey Complex. She has performed on Wyatt Cenac’s Night Train for SeeSo, This Week at the Comedy Cellar and Comics to Watch for Comedy Central, LaffMob for TruTV, was a panelist on Refinery 29/Facebook Watch’s After After Party and can be seen in Apple’s Helpsters, HBO’s Crashing, Search Party, Showtime’s Flatbush Misdemeanors and in the upcoming Netflix series Survival of the Thickest. She made her off-broadway debut this past summer at the 59e59 production of The Panic of ‘29. She was selected for the 2018 FOX Comedy showcase, was a finalist in NBC’s Stand Up For Diversity Showcase and has performed at festivals like SF Sketchfest, Bonnaroo, The New York Comedy Festival and Bumbershoot. Vulture and NY Magazine named her one of the “comedians you should and will know in 2020”.

About Arthur Simeon

Arthur Simeon is a Ugandan-born Toronto-based comedian who has been performing for over a decade all over the world. A truly gifted storyteller, Arthur has been invited to perform at the Just For Laughs comedy festival nine times and appeared on CBC Television, HBO, Kevin Hart’s LOL Network and the CTV Comedy Channel. His unique comedic voice and perspective has seen him featured in the Globe & Mail, NOW Magazine and the Toronto Star. He’s also a regular on CBC Radio's Laugh Out Loud and The Debaters.

His latest album, The Blackest Panther can be heard regularly on SiriusXM. Arthur is a banana bread connoisseur and lover of slow jams.

About Boston Pizza

Boston Pizza International Inc. ("BPI") is Canada's number one casual dining brand. The Boston Pizza brand has served communities from coast-to-coast for 59 years since opening its first restaurant in Edmonton, Alberta in 1964. Today Boston Pizza proudly remains a Canadian company with its hundreds of local franchise owners operating more dining rooms, sports bars and patios than any other single brand in the country, along with take-out and delivery. BPI has been recognized both as a Franchisees' Choice Designation winner and a Platinum Member of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies for many years.

About Just For Laughs

Global leader in comedy and home to the #1 Comedy Festival in the World, Just for Laughs Group has been launching and championing top comedic talent - from Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, Ali Wong, Bill Burr Hasan Minhaj, Hannah Gadsby, Jimmy Carr, Trevor Noah, John Mulaney, Canada’s own Rick Mercer and Russell Peters and countless others for over 40 years. Founded in 1983, the company is a vertically integrated international powerhouse in the creation of multiplatform comedic content. Every year, millions of spectators are entertained at its worldwide festivals, from Montréal – the biggest comedy event in the world – to Toronto and Vancouver, Canada; Austin, U.S.A.; London, UK; and Sydney, Australia; featuring thousands of Canadian and international comedians - from well-established artists to aspiring up-and-comers. With concentrated growth on television development and production, the Group’s digital and televised content is shown in over 150 countries and followed by an online audience of over 14 million. In addition, the Group produces touring shows, stages its own musicals, provides talent management services for Quebec artists and is the originator of the ComedyPRO conference.
For more information, visit www.hahaha.com.

Boston Pizza presents Just For Laughs Comedy Tour

Coast-to-coast – November 2-25, 2023

TICKETS ON SALE Friday, August 25 @ 10:00 AM LOCAL TIME (noon in Halifax)

The BOSTON PIZZA PRESENTS JUST FOR LAUGHS COMEDY TOUR will visit the following locations:

For more information, including where to buy tickets, visit:

www.hahaha.com

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Media Contacts

Leisa Lee - 514 946-2010 - [email protected]

Talar Adam - 514 833-0274 - [email protected]