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Three shades of comedy this week: Game Grumps Live, Harlem Globetrotters, Liberal Redneck comedy tour

 
The comic YouTube stars of Game Grumps Arin Hanson, left, and Dan Avidan will do a live version of their show at Ruth Eckerd Hall on Dec. 9. They will play games, make jokes and take questions. Photo courtesy of Ruth Eckerd Hall.
The comic YouTube stars of Game Grumps Arin Hanson, left, and Dan Avidan will do a live version of their show at Ruth Eckerd Hall on Dec. 9. They will play games, make jokes and take questions. Photo courtesy of Ruth Eckerd Hall.
Published Dec. 8, 2017

VIDEO STARS: Game Grumps Live

You thought video game players were wasting their time, but these days professional players are packing stadiums and making more money than you'll ever see. They also give us hilarious shows like Game Grumps Live, coming to Ruth Eckerd Hall Saturday (yes, the big room where they put on the Broadway shows). Like a cross between Mystery Science Theater 3000 and your favorite podcast, they comment and riff on the games they play on their hugely popular YouTube channel and take questions. 8 p.m. Saturday. Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 N McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $28.75-$100. (727) 791-7400. rutheckerdhall.com.

COURT JESTERS: Harlem Globetrotters

The old water bucket gag still works. So does the "goal tending" prank where Harlem Globetrotters showman Ant Atkinson (a legendary college basketball star in his own right) literally sits on the rim of the basket. Though the fans love comedy from Atkinson, Big Easy Lofton, Scooter Christensen and the more recent female stars TNT Lister, Ace Jackson and Hoops Green, their ball handling skills have made the team habitual Guinness World Record breakers. Atkinson shot the longest basketball shot blindfolded, 73 feet 10 inches from the basket. And earlier this year the team took over New York City's Time Square and smashed the world record for the most half-court shots made by a team in an hour. The record was 200, but the Globetrotters sunk 348 baskets. Stick around after the show for autographs and photos with the stars. 7 p.m. Friday. Amalie Arena, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. $23-$115. (813) 301-2500.

LIBERAL REDNECKS: WellRed

Stand-up comedians Drew Morgan, top, Corey Ryan Forrester and Trae Crowder — a YouTube sensation better known as "the Liberal Redneck" — are coming to Clearwater's Capitol Theatre on Friday with their show dubbed WellRed: From Dixie With Love. The show "is about dancing to country music at a gay wedding," the group says in its tour announcement. "It's about loving your neighbor whether you have the same religion, skin color, or sexual preference, as long as they cheer for the same college football team." Crowder, a Tennessee native, shot to stardom a year ago in a viral video where he appears shirtless on his back porch on an expletive-laden rant about "this transgender bathroom mess." He has since secured a sitcom deal and joined forces with his comedy partners Forrester and Morgan to pen a best-selling book, Liberal Redneck Manifesto: Draggin Dixie Outta the Dark. The trio have been featured on numerous political talk shows and co-host their own topical weekly podcast. The show is for mature audiences, and was nearly sold out at press time. 8 p.m. Friday. 405 Cleveland St., Clearwater. (727) 791-7400. rutheckerdhall.com.

FORECAST: Check the weekend's weather forecast while making your plans.

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