Top comedians helping put Great Falls on A-list map Great Falls Tribune - Great Falls, Mont. Author: JAKE SORICH Date: Feb 7, 2012 Start Page: A.1 Section: A Section Text Word Count: 670

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Top-selling comedians Ron White and Rodney Carrington will return to the Electric City for separate shows, the Mansfield Center for the Performing Arts announced Monday.

Carrington performs here on May 4, while White comes through on June 8. Both jokesters last performed in Great Falls three years ago, with White last here on April 28, 2009 and Carrington on Oct. 31, 2009.

Donna Hughes, Mansfield Center events supervisor, said the support both comedians had the last time they were here gave them motivation to book return shows this year.

"It's a small world out there and when Great Falls is so great at buying tickets when we get a big name coming in, it makes such a huge, huge difference for them the next time they're out touring," Hughes said. "It doesn't take too much for word to get around about how supportive Great Falls is, and it helped put us on their map in terms of routing, so that was exciting to hear."

Tickets go on sale for White's show on Feb. 13. Tickets for Carrington's show go on sale starting Feb. 22. Both shows are recommended for adults only.

White and Carrington are the second and third nationally touring comedians to perform at the Mansfield Center during the first half of 2012, respectively. Comedy Central star Brian Regan is booked to perform there on March 31.

Hughes said it's fun as an events manager to see these type of acts come through Great Falls more frequently.

"It's exciting to see that we have Brian (Regan) and then right after that this spring we go from him to Rodney to Ron," she said. "It's neat to feel we're getting that reputation where we don't have to beg them anymore, they call us."

Carrington is a multitalented comedian, actor, and writer who recorded eight major record label comedy albums, selling more than 3 million copies.

His album "Morning Wood," has been certified gold and his "Greatest Hits" album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Several years ago he starred in his own TV sitcom "Rodney," which ran for two seasons on ABC.

According to Pollstar, Carrington is one of the top 10 grossing touring comedians for the last 10 years and among the top four or five the last several years. He is on track to be in the top five again in 2012.

He regularly performs to sold-out crowds across the United States and Canada.

White is best known as the crude, cigar smoking, scotch drinking funnyman from the "Blue Collar Comedy" tour.

But with two Grammy nominations, a gold record, three of the top-rated one-hour TV specials in Comedy Central history, a book that appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List, and CD and DVD sales of more than 10 million, he is a star on his own. The main example being that during the past five years he has been one of the top three grossing comedians on tour in the United States. Hughes said that, even though White had flight issues the last time he came here and didn't arrive until a half-hour before the show, he was very sweet to the staff working the show.

"Ron, when he came in he had plane problems, and it was pretty funny, he got in for the show at 7:30 or 8 o'clock ? I can't remember," Hughes said. "But he got in a half-hour before getting on, and he was supposed to get in early and go out to dinner. They told me 'he's going to be really cranky,' but he was just really as nice of person to start the day with, even after all that."

Tickets to Carrington's show are $42.25 and tickets for White's show are $44.75 and $54.75. They can be purchased online at ticketing.greatfallsmt.net, by phone at 455-8514 or at the door the night of the shows. For more information on White, visit tatersalad.com. For more on Carrington, visit his website at rodneycarrington.musiccitynetworks.com.

ID_Code: G1-202070303

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission. Abstract (Document Summary)

According to Pollstar, Carrington is one of the top 10 grossing touring comedians for the last 10 years and among the top four or five the last several years.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.