There’s the Philadelphia Improv Festival, Philly Sketchfest and now the Philadelphia Pub Crawl Comedy Festival. Or maybe it’s a “tour”. No matter what it’s called, New York’s Luke Cunningham and Philly’s Tommy Papa are putting the shows together to showcase some funny stand-up comics from the two cities. They’ve invited Chris Cotton (Philly), JL Cauvin (Late Show with Craig Freguson), Chelsea White (MTV), and Kevin McCaffrey (Late Show with David Letterman) for the second show tonight in Upper Darby [show info]. The plan is to put a show in a different bar in the Philadelphia area every four to six weeks.

In advance for the show tonight, I caught up with the two by e-mail to ask about their past together and performing stand-up in the two cities.

The two of you went to high school together…

Luke Cunningham: Tommy and I both went to Monsignor Bonner in Upper Darby, PA.

Tommy Papa: So did Larry Mendte and Jamie Kennedy.

LC: It’s an all boys Catholic high school. It was like an educational tug of war. All of the effort just went toward avoiding getting pulled in to the muck.

Were you the guys the class clowns? Nerdy kids?

LC: I was a nerd. I was captain of the Hi-Q academic team. Tommy was definitely more of the class clown type. Though we both played varsity basketball, he was more of a class clown than I was. If Bonner: Dazed and Confused :: Tommy : Randall ‘Pink’ Floyd :: Luke : Tony Olsen.

TP: Luke admits being in the Hi-Q academic team, there is no need to debate this one. But, I would say we played both sides overall, sports and dorks. Although I was certainly a class clown, I was in AP classes and in the top 10 percent of my class. So I was a track 1 clown. In other words, I was a class clown, but I would have been spared by the Columbine trench coat kids.

Were you good friends?

LC: I’d like to think so but Tommy may tell you different. That guy goes a little St. Peter on me when a cute girl is around.

TP: Yeah. Our friendship was born on the bench of Varsity Basketball my sophomore year. Junior year for Luke. I told you he was smart.

Are you worried about rowdy crowds being these shows are at bars?

LC: I always feel like crowds are as rowdy as you allow them to be. It’s part of the art of hosting, getting a rowdy crowd to quiet down and pay attention. Our first show was in August. Mark Normand hosted. He admitted he was “terrified” of the crowd before going up. But Mark is funny and exceptionally quick with crowd work. The crowd paid attention and we had a great show.

TP: The only thing I would add is that we try our best to create a lineup of comedians that is different and will work well together, but ultimately it is the comedians job to mesh with the crowd. This is my favorite part of live comedy. It’s like watching Brad Lidge try and close a Phillies game. You may be joyous, or you may may shit your pants in front of old classmates. But when it works, there’s no better form of entertainment.

Luke, you’ve performed a few times in Philadelphia recently. Are you noticing anything different with the crowds here?

LC: Philadelphia’s reputation as a cynical town is largely undeserved. The city does not suffer fools or insincerity but if you’re good and enthusiastic, Philly will love you. Helium [Comedy Club] is a tremendous venue. That open mic is better than most booked shows in New York. I think New York crowds are a little spoiled because they feel like they’re at the center of the universe. For instance, I recently hosted at Gotham in New York. Jim Gaffiigan dropped in for a spot. The crowd’s reaction was good but not like it would be in Philadelphia where he’d blow up the room.

The Helium show I performed on in August- the Philly’s Phunniest Contest- is one of the best, most supportive crowds I’ve ever encountered. I also did the smaller Comic Vs. Audience Show at the Shubin Theater in July. Crowd was small, but just as supportive, like they were invested in each joke. Philly has a great comedy scene.

And Tommy, have you been up to New York?

TP: That’s the plan. As a result of the tour, I have been invited to shoot a pilot and perform at a few shows. I travel often to NYC, whether its to network with NY comics, support Luke in his shows, or just to take advantage of the easy commute during Jewish holidays. The idea for our Philly Pub Crawl is not only to showcase talent locally, but also to give Philly’s up and coming comedians a chance to network with successful NY comics. Our main objective remains to expose Philly’s great comedy culture, as well as to develop more shows abroad. So far so good.

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