Feeling poorly? You need to visit the laugh doctor

The 1950s into the early 60s is widely considered the golden era of Wildwood entertainment, when club marquees boasted names like The Platters, Chubby Checker, Liberace, and many other acts that were as recognizable Cape Cod as they were in Cape May County.
Maybe this will be known as the golden era of Wildwood comedy, with one of the more recognizable names in the laughter business appearing annually. The Casba Comedy Club (609-522-8444), located on the corner of Spicer and Atlantic aves. hosts its yearly visit from Dom Irrera Aug. 28-31.
South Philadelphia born Irrera appears all over the world, traveling about two weeks out of every month most of the year. He now calls California home, but is faithful to the Casba, where he said owner Mark Vito always made room for him before he, Irrera, reached stardom.
“The Casba is like my home club,” Irrera said in a recent telephone interview. “Mark will be the MC, and I’m sure he’ll be doing some of his jokes from ‘around the world.’”
Irrera likes to end his summer—and begin his own vacation—with an appearance at the Casba the same time every year.
“I like to stay home in the fall,” he said. “Hang out with friends; watch football. I think the Eagles will do well this year.”
Irrera has appeared on Seinfeld, Comedy Central, “Barnyard” on Nickelodeon, and now stars on the “Supreme Court of Comedy,” shown on DirecTV.
“I’m the judge, and two different comedians every week act as the attorneys,” Irrera explained. “These are real cases, like a small claims court, and they (complainant and defendant) sign off on them, just like the other court shows on TV.”
And, just as on other television courtrooms, the judge—in this case, Irrera—renders a verdict. A real verdict! Probably a tad funnier than Judge Judy though, if his past performances are any gauge.
“I’ll be doing about 20-30 minutes of new material at the Casba,” he noted. “I’ll go after the candidates a little. Some people want the old stuff; some want new.
“My favorite reaction from people is when they come up to me and say, ‘My face hurt I was laughing so much.’
“It’s good to be the laugh doctor,” he continued. “Laughter is a good medicine, but if you have a 101 fever, put down the joke book and take an antibiotic.”
If you are feeling a little low, your prescription is to take one act of Dom Irrera and call your doctor in the morning. That is, if your face stops hurting long enough.