Adam Bergeron and wife Jaimi Holker are back in the owners’ saddle at The Crepe Place, which bodes well for the Santa Cruz comedy scene. Previous shows with Neil Hamburger, Kyle Kinane and other quirky underground legends have made The Crepe Place a bit of a legendary spot for the yuk yuks.
Starting on Thursday, Sept. 18 is a new monthly (third Thursdays) comedy show at The Crepe Place, with longtime Santa Cruz comedian Richard Stockton.
Stockton is a fixture in the local comedy scene, pioneering the revered Planet Cruz Comedy shows that zeroed in on “what’s weird (and funny) about Santa Cruz.” The silver-coiffed curmudgeon was the only white comic on BET’s influential show Live from LA, playing the “out-of-touch” Caucasian, on set, with folks like Dr. Dre, Shaggy and L.V. (singer of “Gangsta’s Paradise,” which was the theme song for Dangerous Minds, which was filmed in Santa Cruz).
This new monthly show is born out of Stockton’s vision and Bergeron’s loyalty to the comic. “I’ve always felt a special kinship with Richard,” Bergeron says. “After his Planet Cruz Comedy shows, the whole cast would come in afterwards, and we’d put our big tables together in the back, and we’d all hang out ’til closing. It’s going to be nice to sort of officially put a stamp on it.”
It’s a new gambit for the Crepe Place to use the recently renovated, spacious backyard patio as a comedy venue—and it’s a super nice spot.
“We see the garden as a community multi-use space that is used for a broad spectrum of entertainment, but we’ve always wanted comedy in here, and Richard is the comedian I like. Our ethos aligns, and this seems like a perfect marriage. I want him to get us all riled up in a beautiful setting,” Bergeron says.
Both men are committed to a thought-provoking space, where freethinkers can congregate and express their art, and that sounds perfectly Santa Cruz.
Comedy in the Garden begins at 6pm on Sept. 18 at the Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. thecrepeplace.com
