Edgefield experienced another first last Thursday night—the first comedy show to be held in the new mini-theater located in the Discovery Center on Main Street.

Entitled, “Broadway & Belly Laughs,” it was presented by the Edgefield Theatre Company and was an evening of music and stand-up comedy designed to loosen up even the most serious-minded personality.

Nationally-touring comedian Steve Mingolla, known as The Nice Guy in comedy circles, kept the audience in stitches. But first, Edgefield Theatre Company director Tony Baughman, a talented singer and actor in his own right, entertained the crowd with a series of Johnny Mathis tunes and other classics such as “Misty,” “New York, New York,” and “Save the Last Dance for Me.” A couple in the audience even danced to, “Unforgettable.”

Mingolla began by joking about Southern people, weddings, smoking and his wife.

Having grown up in New York and moved to Texas, he said one of his first thoughts there was, “There must be a lot of things broken here. They’re always fixin’ something.”

He describes his wife as “Lazy Susan.” “She wanted me to say something dirty to her in bed,” he said. “I said ‘Kitchen floor.’”

He also joked about being the oldest kid in the family and being responsible for setting an example.
“I wanted a brother, but all I got was two sisters,” he said. “I never saw my mother’s teeth move (she was always clinching them).”

Dogs, cats, being half Italian/half Polish, and belt dads were more of the topics covered.

“Dogs are known as ‘man’s best friend,’” he said. “They love unconditionally. If you want to test the dog’s love, lock your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car. Three hours later, open the trunk and see which one is happy to see you.”

Mingolla, who has often opened for James Gregory and who now lives in Holly Springs, Ga., says he never met a person he didn’t like. After attending two years of college at Texas Tech University with majors including architectural engineering one semester, two semesters in art and one in Air Force ROTC, he still didn’t know what he wanted to do. His third year in college was at Kopiolani Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii. An acting coach encouraged him to enter an annual talent contest as a comedian. The thrill of making people laugh had him hooked.

Mingolla dropped out of college the following year and moved to Hollywood, Calif. where he landed a job as a doorman at the “World Famous” Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip. There he learned from comics such as Dennis Miller, Louie Anderson, Gary Shandling and others. Mingolla soon learned that although some comics become quite successful through the use of explicit language, it wasn’t for him. He was the nice guy.

Mingolla tours 40 plus weeks a year all over the United States. He has done television commercials, syndicated radio shows, corporate events, charities, military instillations in Europe, comedy clubs and civic auditoriums. He has appeared on TNN, Comedy Central, Liars and Legends and Showtime. He also has record sales of his T-shirt, which features a line from his show, “I got spanked, look how I turned out.”

Essie Nicholson of Edgefield said she enjoyed the show.

“It brought back memories from my childhood about getting spanked,” she said. “I’d like for him to come back sometimes.”

Likewise, Catherine Jackson of Aiken said the show was really good.

“I didn’t agree with the cat jokes however (she’s a cat lover). But I’d come back to see him. The timing was good.”

Baughman said the show was an experiment, a successful one he might add.

“In addition to plays, it’s important for the theatre company to promote all types of the arts,” he said. “Tragedy/comedy is the ‘core’ of the theatre. Stand-up comedy is one of the most underappreciated art forms.”

Baughman said they hope to have more cabaret nights with singers, musicians and comedians at the Discovery Center Mini-Theater.

“The crowd was small, but I still consider the experiment a success,” he said.