Hollywood Pop Up Comedy Club on Friday

The laughs, excitement and electricity of Hollywood's famed Sunset Strip returned to Beirut with the Hollywood Pop-up Comedy Club inside the gorgeously decorated Teatro Verdun. Featuring a stellar line up of Hollywood's hottest standup comedians, this event follows earlier editions of the Hollywood Popup Comedy Club, which were overwhelmingly successful with sold out shows, fans in tears from laughing so much and comedians who became ambassadors for Lebanon after experience the beauty of the people and places of the country. Taking the stage for the November 30^th to December 2^nd engagement were four comics who regularly sell out the clubs in Hollywood and who have made their marks in film and television. The Hollywood Pop Up Comedy Club has spot lighted a local comedian from Lebanon in each show. During the 3^rd edition, four of the funniest Lebanese standup comedians have performed on The Hollywood Pop Up Comedy Club stage: Wissam Kamal, Stephanie Ghalbouni, Nicolas Tawk, Mohamad Baalbaki.

The Hollywood comedians are:

Bret Ernst, who currently stars in Cobra Kai, one of the most successful web television series of all time. His Comedy Central special is widely considered to be one of the top 5 of all time, and his comedy album American Comic broke the top 10 on iTunes the first week of its release. He has made celebrity appearances on Chelsea Lately, ABC's Comics Unleashed, the Top Ten on E! and The Sports List on Fox. Bret first gained national notoriety starring in Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show.

Crystal Denha, has had killer performances in Jane the Virgin, Spider Man 3, Quality Problems, Real Husbands of Hollywood and The Flip Side. Her stunning looks have audiences paying attention before she even opens her mouth. Once she starts with her act, nobody is safe. She has fans all around the world due to her international appeal and willingness to consider no topic off limits.

Justin Martindale, is a superstar on the E! channel with his own show, What the Fashion, as well as frequent appearances on E!'s Live From E!, and the series Worst Thing I Ever. He's a creator for Funny or Die, and was a writer for Joan Rivers. Justin overpowers any stage he is on and cannot wait to share his humor with Beirut!

Chinedu Unaka, considered by Kevin Hart to be one of the hottest rising comedians around. Chinedu has been on The Mindy Project and tours nationally opening for Damon Wayans Jr. and other huge comics. Chinedu is a Nigerian from LA who uses his family as inspiration for much of his act... stories that will have you crying from laughter.

Serving as host will be Beirut's own Anthony Salame, who has been doing standup comedy for years and has been the original host of the Hollywood Comedy Club since its inception.

The Hollywood Popup Comedy Club is produced by Beirut's Samira Kawas, and Los Angeles-based Ron Senkowski, Senkowski visits Beirut regularly and sees the Hollywood Pop Up Comedy Club, and comedy in general, as a universal bridge among international cultures. "For me, some of the best nights out are at comedy clubs. I just thought, wouldn't it be cool if we could have these fantastically entertaining comics perform for audiences who may never have experienced a night in a traditional comedy club. And the comedians for the most part have never even been to the Middle East. Ahead of time they are nervous - mostly because of our Western media - but by the end of their trip here, during which they've done the six shows, gone out to amazing nightspots like IRIS or Bar du Port, or Mandaloun or Falamenki, they have made hundreds of friends and bonded with the culture in a way that literally turns them into ambassadors for Lebanon. They come back to the States in awe of how beautiful the people of Lebanon are, and how incredible the country is. For me, we are bridging cultures through comedy. It's pretty rewarding.  Oh, and they all end up with a ton of Arabic followers and fans in their Instagram accounts!"