Getting Laughs At Sergio's

Whenever you walk in the door at on Merrick Road you can usually be assured of two things: good food, and unique entertainment. From psychics to Elvis impersonators and everything in-between, one could easily say that owner Mike Sergio goes the extra mile to pack in the crowds.

That trend continued with a recent "Comedy Night at Sergio's," a hilarious evening combining a delicious multi-course meal and the talents of four very funny comedians, each one keeping the jam-packed dining room at Sergio’s doubled over with laughter.

Alan Streisfeld served as the MC for the evening, warming up the crowd with some rib ticklers and introducing his colleagues, one by one. Streisfeld has battled in the trenches of local comedy clubs for many a year, and after taking a hiatus due to moving, Streisfeld is now back with a vengeance.

"I did my first stand-up in 1992 at the Improv in Manhattan," he said. "I was doing open mic in the city until I moved to Oakdale, and the commute was too much, so I stopped for eight years. Then I started taking comedy classes at the Brokerage comedy club in Bellmore, and got back into it. I mostly got into comedy because I'm shy...it's like self-therapy."

Robyn Schall of Hewlett is the newcomer of the group, having only preformed stand-up for the past year-and-a-half. However, she's already making seasoned pros stand up and take notice with her mic skills.

"I was an actress, and I wasn't getting booked," she said. "When I went on a lot of auditions, they always told me that I was really good at being myself, so my dad told me to try stand-up. I told him he was crazy, since that was the hardest form of performing, but I started it, and now I'm doing really well and booking a lot."

Dr. Harry Freedman may or may not be an actual practitioner of medicine, but regardless of his knowledge of human anatomy, he certainly knows the location of your funny bone.

"By day, I'm a medical doctor, by night I'm a comedian," he said. "I've been on some TV shows, like 'Everybody Loves Raymond', I've been profiled in newspapers, and I've done shows for Fortune 500 companies. I also make really funny videos for people having birthdays, or getting married, stuff like that."

Massapequa resident John Santo obviously takes his cues from famous comedians such as Rich Little, with his dead-on impersonations of famous folks from both Hollywood and the political arena.

"I do a lot of celebrities," he said. "I do Barrack Obama, George Bush, Richard Nixon, people like that. I've been doing comedy for eight years now, and I play a lot of comedy clubs, firehouses, and charity shows."

To see an upcoming list of events at Sergio’s Italian Restaurant, be sure to check their website’s event schedule.