Comedian Frank Spadone organizing Italian earthquake relief fundraising show at Vaughan Yuk Yuk's
Comedy show featuring special guests The Doo Wops, Sandra Carusi runs Oct. 2
Yorkregion.com
Sept .23, 2016
By Adam Martin-Robbins
Many Italian-Canadians have been looking for ways to help those impacted by the powerful earthquake that rocked central Italy in August, killing nearly 300 people.
Stand-up comic Frank Spadone decided to do what he knows best - put on a comedy show.
“We’re so fortunate that we have these gifts...and every now and then you think, I should use this (gift) to help people out and that’s what I decided,” said Spadone, a Richmond Hill resident known for drawing much of his material from growing up in an Italian-Canadian household.
“I just called a few of my funny friends that they would probably want to be on board and they were, of course. They didn’t even bat an eyelash.”
The Italian Earthquake Relief Charity Show takes place Sunday, Oct. 2 at Yuk Yuk’s comedy club, 70 Interchange Way, in Vaughan.
Joining Spadone on stage will be Toronto comedian Sandra Carusi and The Doo Wops comedy duo featuring David Mesiano and John Catucci, best known as host of Food Network series You Gotta Eat Here.
“There’s so much rich heritage for the world that Italy provides from food to fashion to cars to music and when you see it fall apart like that and the people who lose homes, it’s really heart-wrenching,” said Carusi, whose family lives less than two hours from Amatrice, the epicentre of the earthquake.
“I’m a big proponent of using laughter to heal. I’ve been battling cancer two years and am still in treatment. For me it’s a big deal to use humour to kind of balance out the darkness of the world.”
Catucci said he didn't hesitate when Spadone called to ask him about doing the show.
“When I heard about the earthquake happening, everybody was feeling sad about it, but I guess the Italians felt a bigger connection and were figuring out how we can help,” Catucci said. “When Frank gave me a shout and said, ‘We’re doing this fundraiser.’ I said, ‘Yes, for sure.’ It wasn’t even a question.”
Tickets cost $30 plus tax with box office proceeds going to the Red Cross Italian disaster relief fund.
For more information, visit Yuk Yuk's web page.
