Comedians "Kill" at Comedy Competition

More than 60 guests at Dublin’s Willow Tree Chinese Restaurant nearly died laughing Friday. That’s because Bunjo's Comedy Club inside the Willow Tree hosted its fourth annual Killer Laughs Comedy Competition -- and there were plenty of killers onstage.

Friday was the last of the semi-finals in what quickly has become a popular competition among Bay Area comics.Red Scott, Gail Jones, Regina Stoops, Sandi Selvi, Eric Steele, Bryant Hicks, Jim Kruder and Jules Posner competed for a spot in the finals.

These eight comedians are some of the funniest in the area:, they were who remained of the 80 comics who entered the Killer Laughs competition in March.And the heat was on because the comics were competing for only four spots in next week’s final show.

Each guest was given a voting card with the names of the comics and the numbers one through four below each name and at the end of the night everyone voted for first, second, third and fourth places.

Five judges voted with the same cards and scoring system but their votes counted for 70 percent of the final tally to the audience’s 30 percent.

But the bottom line was laughter and there was plenty of that.

Scott poked fun at his pale complexion and freckled face, complete with red hair, remarking that he looked like a “ham mated with a basketball.” Posner lamented his inability to get a girlfriend, saying that every single woman in his San Francisco stomping grounds has a cat and he seems to be allergic.

The sheer variety of comics entertained the crowd as much as the jokes themselves.

There was Stoops, the lesbian mother of three who is pretty sure she’s married but can’t be sure because the “hetero’s won’t make up their minds.” And then there was Kruder, a radio DJ and disgruntled Chile’s employee, and Gail Jones, a funny grandma with a potty mouth.

Regardless of their background not one comic left the stage to silence or boos. It was a close competition.“I would say so far this is the most competitive it’s been,” said Bunjo’s owner John DeKoven. “It was great. Obviously at this point it’s down to the best. Judging was close –- [sometimes] it was a difference of maybe one vote. Everyone did great, no one bombed.”

Although every comic might have kept the audience in stitches, there had to be winners and Scott, Hicks, Stoops and Jones won first, second, third and fourth place respectively.

They will move on with the winners of the previous semi-final match --Patrick McDermott, Eli Peterson, Nina G and Gary Anderson -- to compete for the title at the finals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bunjo’s.

The winner of that competition will win a cash prize and be crowned the fourth champion of the Killer Laughs Comedy Competition. Think of it as a license to kill.

For more information or to purchase tickets for the final competition Friday, visit www.bunjoscomedy.com or call 925-264-4413. Tickets are $12 plus a minimum purchase of two items from the menu.