STORY CONTRIBUTED BY A.RACEY

On Friday, May 13 Sparkle Network presents #MomWouldBeSoProud…Comedy Legends to benefit the Alzheimer/Dementia Family Fund.

The fund was created to bring laughter and light to families struggling to get medical assistance for their loved ones in the community.  Sparkle Network hopes to raise awareness and funds for 64 hours, roughly one month, of respite and medical care to help at least six families.  The organization is also hoping to get to 10 families who don’t have insurance and can’t qualify for programs and other assistance.

“These diseases are tough to handle in so many ways since there is not always understanding when they start and the fact they are starting in people at a younger age,” Sparkle Network president and creator Moe Lietz said.

Lietz is fortunate to have insurance in place to take care of her mother as she continues her journey with dementia. The Sparkle Network team has realized this, however, is not the norm in other families.

Lietz will be the host for the night, while Katrina Brown, Bryan McCree and Billy Ray Bauer will be the comedians of the event.

Dubbed “the weird one” by her stepfather, Katrina has definitely lived up to the nickname.  Growing up as the youngest of seven children, Katrina wanted to find a way to become her own individual. She found that cultivating an obnoxious and loud personality was the way to go.  As a mother of two boys and having no filter personality, Katrina will say the things others wish they were bold enough to.  This woman is a pop culture addict and her bizarre wit keeps audiences of every adult age and demographic in tears of laughter.

In other words, she’s funny, fearless and fierce.

 

Next on the list is Bryan, whose life is the epitome of diversity. His life is tangled between worlds of black and white. And when they collide, it’s a hilarious romp of attempts to decipher black slang and trying to fit in with white relatives.  Entertaining is in Bryan’s blood. His father is a jazz virtuoso, his great aunt is a Broadway legend, and his mother is the best cosmetology instructor ever to wear a smock.   Bryan has many television and other film credits under his belt, including Stints on MAD TV and Comedy Central. He was also one of 10 comedians from all over the world picked to earn honors as best of NBC’s Stand Up For Diversity finals.

 

Next up is Billy Ray, a stand up comedian for the last 25 years. If you like impressions and other unusual dialects, then he is your man.  From skewed descriptions of growing up in Detroit in the sixties, to stories about raising four boys, Billy Ray will leave his audience exhausted from laughter.  He certainly had his fair share of experiences as he’s been a guest on the Bob and Tom Show multiple times and he’s also been heard on the Dick Purtan radio show in Detroit.  Billy Ray has also co hosted the Appliance Doctor Radio program on WXYT for three years. He’s appeared on Comedy Central and Night Shift, and Just For Laughs on Canadian TV.   Billy Ray’s jokes have also appeared in Readers Digest and he has stood alongside Drew Carey, Tim Allen, The Smothers Brothers, Lewis Black and Doug Stanhope, just to name a few.

This is one hilarious night you won’t want to miss.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. to a strolling dinner before the show starts at 7:30 p.m. The event will take place at the Vintage House on Utica Road in Fraser.

Tickets are $50 a person or $90 for two. Please know that this show is for people 18-years-old and up.

Tickets can be purchased at http://momcomedy.bpt.me or contact Moe Lietz at 248-840-8136.

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