The Vilar Performing Arts Center is gearing up for the beginning of its 2017 Winter Comedy Series, featuring headlining performances by Joel McHale, Kevin Nealon, The Second City and Paula Poundstone. Single tickets begin at $38 and are available now at the VPAC box office (970-845-8497; www.vilarpac.org). The VPAC is located under the ice rink in Beaver Creek Village (68 Avondale Lane, Beaver Creek, Colorado).

In addition to single tickets, the VPAC offers patrons the chance to purchase a Comedy 4-Pack ticket bundle, featuring all four Comedy Series performances for just $190 – a savings of $69.

The first performance of the series features television personality Joel McHale on Saturday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m. McHale recently wrapped his twelfth and final season of E!’s “The Soup” in which he satirized pop culture and current events. He is also best known for his starring role on the hit comedy series “Community,” which wrapped its sixth season. Just this October 2016 McHale released his new book “Thanks for the Money” and premiered his new CBS sitcom, “The Great Indoors” in which he stars. He also most recently hosted this January the “2017 People’s Choice Awards.”

 

On Friday, February 10 at 7:30 p.m., the VPAC welcomes The Second City: We’re All in This Room Together to Beaver Creek. Full of the live and in-your-face entertainment Netflix can’t provide, this must-attend show features improvised comedy, audience interaction, and of-the-moment sketches and songs from The Second City made famous by superstars like Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, Steve Carell, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Rachel Dratch, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Mike Myers, Martin Short and more.

NPR personality Paula Poundstone performs at the VPAC on Thursday, February 16 at 7:30 p.m. Heralded as one of our country’s foremost comics, Paula Poundstone’s quick-thinking, unscripted approach to comedy makes for a perfect fit as a regular panelist on NPR’s #1 show, the screwball weekly news quiz show “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” where she (allegedly) holds the record for game losses. Paula tours regularly, performing standup comedy across the country. Writes Nick Zaino with the Boston Globe: “You know she’s a great comic the way you know any fine performer when you see one — there’s a disarming ease in her craft, an immediate sense that she’s so quick on her feet you need never worry about the possibility of something going wrong.”

Rounding out the Winter Comedy Series is a performance by Kevin Nealon on Sunday, February 26 at 7:30 p.m. Nealon is best known for his nine-year stint as a cast member of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” and has received critical acclaim for his role in the Showtime series, “Weeds” (which recently completed its eighth and final season, has been honored at the 2006, 2007 and 2009 Golden Globes with nominations for Best Television Series Comedy or Musical). As one of the longest running cast members on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” (1986-1995), Nealon created some of the show’s most memorable characters, including The Subliminal Man and Hans and Franz. Nealon’s reoccurring role as an anchor on ‘Weekend Update’ made the sketch a show staple. In 1988 Kevin earned an Emmy Award nomination as part of the SNL writing team. Nealon is also often recognized for his numerous film appearances including his roles in – “Just Go with It,” “Anger Management,” “Eight Crazy Nights,” “The Wedding Singer,” “Happy Gilmore,” “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan,” “Joe Dirt,” “Daddy Day Care” and the cult hit “Grandma’s Boy.”