Nate Bargatze has come full circle

Nate Bargatze has come full circle.

In 2011, Bargatze was in Jamestown performing as a showcase comedian in a Comedy Late Night show during the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival.

According to National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson, showcase comedians are hidden gems.

“I think every year people see our showcase comedians, who may not be household names, come away saying that was some of the best comedy they’ve ever seen,” Gunderson said.

AP Photo
Nate Bargatze speaks with journalists as he arrives at A Country Thing Happened On The Way To Cure Parkinson’s at The Fisher Center on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.

She added that experiences are created in Jamestown that patrons can only otherwise get at comedy clubs in Los Angeles or New York City. The showcase comedians present their strongest bits. The comedians are up-and-coming, and can be just as funny as headliners, but they just don’t have a headliner label yet.

Gunderson said Bargatze is the best example of a comedian coming full circle.

“Nate was in the first showcase I ever booked in 2011. … And so Nate Bargatze, who’s now filling arenas all over the country, and hosting Saturday Night Live was one of these showcase comics – here (in Jamestown),” Gunderson noted.

Gunderson said it was a very special moment when Bargatze came in November 2023 to tour NCC.

“And we stood there and laughed because we both remembered being in Jamestown together in 2011 when it was a pipe dream, when we were just talking about this thing (NCC) we were going to build,” she said. “He hadn’t become a household name at that point, and so now the fact that he’s coming back to headline the arena, yeah, you know, it’s an amazing trajectory for Nate, for Jamestown.”

And after he finished his 3-hour NCC tour, Bargatze was very receptive to performing in Jamestown again.

“And in our follow up conversation, he said, ‘I would absolutely love to come back here and perform again,”‘Gunderson said.

Bargatze will perform Saturday at the Northwest Arena. He also will bring some special archival material to NCC, she said.

From Thursday through Saturday, the festival will present six exciting Comedy Late Night shows featuring a new lineup of comics each night. These performers have graced the stages of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Daily Show, Last Comic Standing, Conan, Netflix comedy specials, and America’s Got Talent. They are set to deliver their latest–and sometimes most daring–performances. The events will be held in a stunning replica of Ricky Ricardo’s iconic Manhattan nightclub, the Tropicana, located just above the Lucy Desi Museum in Jamestown, Gunderson said.

Nicole Byer will perform Thursday and is one of the most versatile and recognizable voices in the comedy landscape today, acclaimed for her Netflix specials Big Beautiful Weirdo and Comedians of the World and as the host of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated reality-competition baking series Nailed It! Byer starred in NBC’s Grand Crew and was a fan favorite on MTV’s hit series Girl Code. Her past work includes the Above Average web series Pursuit of Sexiness, which she co-created and starred in alongside Sasheer Zamata, and the scripted comedy series Loosely Exactly Nicole. Her network television and feature work includes Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Lady Dynamite, Party Over Here, BoJack Horseman and 30 Rock. She regularly hosts the popular podcasts, Why Won’t You Date Me, and What the Tuck?

More than live events will be presented over four days during the festival, which celebrates comedy’s contemporary stars and rising talent from across the country, while celebrating comedy’s great heritage. This is the 32nd festival over the past 34 years, she said.

Additional events include free block parties with live music, I Love Lucy tribute events, Lucy trivia, Lucy hometown tours, lunches and dinners in the Tropicana Club and including other tours.

– Kids Tour at the lobby of NCC on Aug. 1 at noon, Aug. 2 at 11 a.m., and Aug. 3 at 10:30 a.m. Price is free with museum admission.

-Looking at Inside Out from the Inside Out at the NCC karaoke lounge on

Aug. 1 at 1:30 p.m., and Aug 3 at 4 p.m. Price is free with museum admission.

-A Scatological Movement Through Comedy

at the NCC karaoke lounge on Aug. 1 a t 2:30 p.m., and Aug. 2 at 4 p.m. Price is free with museum admission.

-An Animated View of Comedy at the NCC karaoke lounge Aug. 1 at 3:30 p.m., Aug. 3 at 2:30 p.m. Price is free with museum admission.

-Carl Reiner: The Creator of the “Feel Good” Sitcom at the NCC karaoke lounge on Aug. 2 at 12:30 p.m. Price is free with museum admission.

-Live From New York: It’s A Talk! at the NCC karaoke lounge on Aug. 2 at 3 p.m., and Aug. 3 at 12:30 p.m. Price is free with museum admission.

-Archives Encounter: Remembering Richard Lewis at NCC on Aug. 2 throughout the day. Price is free with museum admission.

-Archives Encounter: Betty White and The Golden Girls at NCC Aug. 3 throughout the day. Price is free with museum admission.

For festival schedule and ticket information for all events visit comedycenter.org/festival.