40 years must be taken with a smile!
JUSTE POUR RIRE MONTRÉAL ANNOUNCES OUTDOOR PROGRAMMING
MONTRÉAL DOWNTOWN TO BE FILLED WITH LAUGHTER FROM THE ESPLANADE PVM ALL THE WAY TO PLACE VILLE MARIE
COMEDY’S BIGGEST INTERNATIONAL STARS WILL BE RETURNING!
LA FUREUR – LE FABULEUX DESTIN D’ERICH PREACH
FESTIMANIA : LE GALA DE LUTTE – THE GODDAMN COMEDY JAM
CONNAIS-TU TON COMIQUE? - TRIXIE MATTEL
LE NOËL DES CAMPEURS DE PHILIPPE LAPRISE - LA PÉDAGO
EXTRAVAGANZA! – JUSTE POUR ADOS
AND 40 ANS DE VRAI FUN!
Montreal, June 8, 2022 – Juste pour rire MONTRÉAL presented by Beneva (the company formed by the coming together of La Capitale and SSQ Insurance) in collaboration with Loto-Québec, unveiled their outdoor programming this morning. Completely free as always, anyone visiting downtown Montreal between July 21 and 30 can enjoy a wide range of shows offering great fun and big laughs. The festival’s reach will be even larger this year, extending from the Quartier des Spectacles on the Esplanade PVM at Place Ville Marie all the way to St-Denis Street. Meaning you’ll be sure to find laughs everywhere you go!
“I often tell my team that the Number 1 reward in our line of work is hearing the laughter of the audience. Nothing gives me more pleasure than the sound of hundreds of people laughing when I’m walking around the festival. As we return to normal this year and expand our programming, I have a feeling I’m going to be even happier this year – and so will you!” said Patrick Rozon, Vice-President, French-Language Content, Just For Laughs Group.
THE BENEVA STAGE
On the Beneva Stage, the outdoor festivities will begin with the show, La Fureur, on July 21. Hosted by Elyse Marquis, Matthieu Pepper, Silvi Tourigny, Stéphane Fallu, Ève Côté, Jean-Thomas Jobin, Pierre-Luc Pomerleau, Michelle Desrochers, Christine Morency and Barbada will kick things off, assisted by a number of surprise guests. On July 22, Erich Preach will host an evening of entertainment entitled Le fabuleux destin d’Erich Preach, along with Mike Beaudoin, Rachelle Elie, Gariahanna, Jean-Louis, Imposs, Dave Morgan, Daniel Tirado, Urban Science and Brass Band on stage. Be ready for anything and everything during FESTIMANIA: Le Gala de lutte, hosted by Martin Vachon on July 23, and accompanied by the music of Porn Flakes and Lulu Hughes.
Maxim Martin will host a quiz entitled Connais-tu ton comique? that will test comedians’ knowledge and talent! Réal Béland, Simon Delisle, Jean-Thomas Jobin, Maude Landry and Martin Perizzollo will be waiting for you on July 24. Then, Le Noël des campeurs de Philippe Laprise, hosted by Philippe Laprise, will take place on July 25 – an appropriately magical date – together with a group of surprise guests.
La pédago, which pays tribute to all Quebec’s teachers, will be back on July 26 with its two regular hosts, Julie Ringuette and Debbie Lynch-White, directed by Joël Legendre. They will be joined by Charles Beauchesne, Coco Belliveau, Jade Charbonneau, Mélanie Couture, Sara Dufour, Pierre Hébert and Barbada, who will each in their own inimitable way highlight the undeniable contributions of Quebec teachers to society. It’s a truly special way of giving back to those who shape the future of our youth.
Speaking of youth, Just for Laughs MONTRÉAL is thrilled to announce the return of its popular Juste pour ados evening; this is also sure to delight parents, who now have a fun outing to add to their children’s schedule on July 30! Hosted by Pascal Morrissette, the show – during which the decibel count reaches its highest level of the entire festival – stars Marie Eve Morency, Jay Scott, William Cloutier, Raphaelle Roy, Maoly Martel Dumais, Réginald Bellamy, Danick Martineau, Claudia Bouvette, Gabriela Jovian-Mazon, Julianne May Falbo, Giuliano Bernola, Tessie Isaac and Tommy Durand.
Also on the Beneva Stage, Extravaganza!, directed by Pierre Poirier, features the incomparable Mado accompanied by Marla Deer, Michelle Desrochers, Mona De Grenoble, Barbada, Nick Saanto, various drag kings, exciting performances and surprise guests! This show will make you feel like you’re covered in glitter.
Once again this year, two English-language shows are included in the outdoor programming as part of Just For Laughs MONTRÉAL: The Goddamn Comedy Jam, hosted by Josh Adam Meyers with his group Elemenopy, and the show Trixie Mattel, featuring Trixie Mattel, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season three. Both are a perfect mix of comedy and music.
“As the saying goes, laughter is the best medicine. At Beneva, we believe that it can be a valuable tool in contributing to our collective health. This makes us proud to be a presenting sponsor of an international event that attracts comedy acts from around the world. Check them out and stock up on the laughs! Enjoy the festival,” said Martin Robert, Executive Vice-President – Talent, Culture and Communication at Beneva.
LA PLACE LOTO-QUÉBEC
Finally, to highlight the festival’s 40th anniversary, the show 40 ans de vrai fun! will pay tribute to landmark Juste pour rire shows from the past four decades through music and dance. Directed by Alex Perron, performances will take place evening at Place Loto-Québec from July 21 to 30, starting from 9 p.m. Dancers and actors Julie Dombrowski, José Dufour, Yannick Fahey, Stéphanie Fournier, Alex Francoeur, Alexia Gourd, Mikeal Larivière St-Hilaire, Éric Lussier, Jason McNally, Claudia Meunier, Mariève Proulx, Gabrielle Roy Lemay and Carol-Anne Vézina will take the stage to the eclectic beats of DJ Debbie Tebbs.
“We’re absolutely delighted to support Just For Laughs MONTRÉAL again this year. It’s an event that raises the city’s profile by entertaining and delighting many thousands of attendees year after year. We invite everyone to enjoy the show celebrating the 40th anniversary of the festival, taking place every evening from July 21 to 30 at Place Loto-Québec. It promises to be a captivating experience for all!” stated Benoit Lefrançois, Corporate Vice-President of Responsible Gambling, Communications and Social Responsibility at Loto-Québec.
JUST FOR LAUGHS MONTREAL – TONS OF INTERNATIONAL STARS!
Thanks to Just For Laughs MONTRÉAL, the biggest names in comedy will be reuniting in Montreal this summer to put a smile on your face. There will be live shows by Kevin Hart, Bill Burr, Chelsea Handler, Jo Koy, Iliza Shlesinger, Russell Peters, Hannah Gadsby, Ronny Chieng, Patton Oswalt and Marc Maron. The city will become a veritable epicentre of comedy with appearances by John Mulaney, Amy Schumer, Hasan Minhaj, Tommy Tiernan, Vir Das, Celeste Barber, Jimmy Carr, Rick Mercer, Jimmy O. Yang, Maria Bamford, Fortune Feimster, Katherine Ryan, Dara Ó Briain, James Acaster, Jacqueline Novak and many more! The lineup also includes the popular Just For The Culture, The Nasty Show, Brit(ish) and New Faces series, not to mention the eclectic OFF-JFL programming and the renowned ComedyPRO conference, which attracts the industry’s most influential figures from around the world.
SPOTLIGHT ON INDOOR PROGRAMMING
Don’t forget that tickets are still available for all the shows taking place in theatres that have been announced over the past few weeks! With a packed lineup of guests, the Galas hosted by Rosalie Vaillancourt, Pierre-Yves Roy Desmarais, Phil Roy and Roxane Bruneau, as well as Richardson Zéphir and Eddy King, promise to be major events showcasing the latest in comedy. The Bell Centre will be the backdrop for two must-see moments: Quebec’s landmark comedy podcast, Sous écoute with Mike Ward, will do a live show on July 22, while Mathieu Dufour make the first arena performance of his career on July 23!
Comedy veteran Jean-Marc Parent will be back with the 11th edition of his Événement JMP on July 22 and 23, David Goudreault will be joined by his friends at the Maison Symphonique on July 24, while Jean-Philippe Wauthier, Olivier Niquet and Jean-Sébastien Girard from La Soirée est (encore) jeune receive a valuable lesson in humility when they have to battle with surprise guests who roast them during two separate performances at Roast de la Soirée est (encore) jeune on July 21.
Other artists who will be performing live include Virginie Fortin, Alexandre Bisaillon, Jean-Sébastien Girard, Alexandre Forest, Charles Beauchesne, Pantelis, Simon Delisle, Thomas Levac, Preach, Jean-François Mercier, Maxim Martin, Mustapha El Atrassi and Panayotis Pascot.
After a year off, our musical production returns in style with the presentation of ANNIE, directed by Serge Denoncourt and starring talented newcomer Kayla Tucker, along with David Savard, Véronique Claveau, Émily Bégin, Geneviève Alarie and Kevin Houle. The show opens June 22 at Théâtre Saint-Denis in Montreal and August 12 at Salle Albert-Rousseau in Quebec City.
For tickets, the full lineup of performers and all other festival details, go to hahaha.com. With less than five weeks to go, we can’t wait to see you there!
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS
The Just For Laughs Group wishes to thank its partners, without whom this festival would not have been possible: Beneva, Loto-Québec, Boston Pizza, Chevrolet, Le Groupe Maurice, GoDaddy, Old Dutch Foods and Belle Gueule. Their invaluable contributions have enabled us to enrich our programming and offer rewarding experiences to festival goers. We would also like to highlight the exceptional support from: the Government of Canada (Canada Economic Development, Canadian Heritage and Employment and Social Development Canada), the Government of Quebec (Ministry of Tourism and Secrétariat à la Région Métropolitaine), SODEC and the Ville de Montréal (Tourisme Montréal and Montréal Centre-Ville).
This year, Just For Laughs is proud to support Welcome Hall Mission, an organization that provides direct aid to people experiencing homelessness, as well as families, mothers and at-risk youth in Montreal, through concrete actions and effective solutions.
ABOUT JUST FOR LAUGHS GROUP
Founded in 1983, the Just For Laughs Group is the most important player in the global comedy industry. Owned by Groupe CH, Bell Media and ICM Partners, the company is an international powerhouse in the creation of multi-platform comedy content. Every year, it entertains millions of spectators with its festivals on Canadian and international stages, in Montreal – the biggest comedy event in the world, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary – along with Toronto, Vancouver, Austin, U.S.A., and Sydney, Australia. The Group organizes shows featuring thousands of comics from Canada and other countries, including established artists as well as up-and-comers, stages its own comedy shows and musicals, produces touring shows, broadcasts digital and televised content (notably Gags, which is shown in 150 countries and followed by an online audience of 10 million on YouTube), manages talented artists and launched the ComedyPRO industry conference. hahaha.com
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