Boston Comedy Festival Comes to Somerville: Jimmy Tingle, Lenny Clarke, Judah Friedlander

For the next week, Davis Square will be home to the Boston Comedy Festival.

The festival will bring several top comics to Somerville, including Jimmy Tingle, Lenny Clarke and "30 Rock's" Judah Friedlander.

Other comics include Andy Kindler, Robbie Printz, Joe Wong and Kevin Meaney.

The heart of the Boston Comedy Festival is a standup contest in which 96 comics will compete for a $10,000 prize. Preliminary and semi-final rounds of the contest will be held throughout the week at , and the finals will be at on Sept. 22. 

The Boston Comedy Festival kicks off Thursday night at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly for a performance of The Loren and Wally Show with Dom Irrera. Beginning Friday, the festival will descend on Davis Square for eight days, with most shows at Davis Square Theatre.

Some highlights include: 

• Jimmy Tingle's American Dream Live on Screen & Stage: After a screening of "Jimmy Tingle's American Dream" there will be a Q&A session with the comic and a live performance of "Jimmy Tingle for President: The Funniest Campaign in History." It's Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. at Davis Square Theatre.
• Andy Kindler: A judge from the seventh season of NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and a frequent guest on The Late Show with David Letterman, Kindler performs Sept. 15 at Davis Square Theatre at 9 p.m.
• Judah Friedlander: Best known for his role as Frank Rossitano on NBC's "30 Rock," Friedlander performs at Davis Square Theatre Sept. 22 at 10 p.m.
• Boston Comedy Festival Finals: The contest's eight finalists will compete for the prize. The finals are hosted by Judah Friedlander and Lenny Clarke. They're at 8 p.m. Sept. 22 at Somerville Theatre.
• Kevin Meaney: A veteran comic who's appeared on all the major late-night shows. He'll be at Davis Square Theatre Sept. 22 at 8 p.m.

You can learn more and get tickets at bostoncomedyfestival.com.

Here's the full schedule of shows, supplied by the Boston Comedy Festival:

Thursday September 13

• 8pm — 105.7 WROR’s The Loren & Wally Comedy at Bill Hanny’s North Shore Music Theatre.with Tony V., Lenny Clarke, and Dom Irrera. Contact the venue at 978-232-7200 or www.nsmt.org or www.wror.com for details and tickets.

Friday September 14

• 7:30pm — Chris Zito hosts some of Greater Boston’s Funniest Media Personalities. Invited media include RadioBDC's Dee Tension, 96.9 Boston Talks’ Michael Graham, 105.7’s Hank Morse, WKLB’s Lori Grande, Mix 104.1’s Alicia Love and WXLO’s Steve Donovan to benefit The Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org). Davis Square Theatre
• 9:30pm — Funny "Shorts" Movie Night  Davis Square Theatre  Twelve short funny films selected to be screened equals 90 minutes of rib ticking fun. 

Saturday September 15

• 7pm — Jimmy Tingle LIVE on screen and stage. Tingle will combine a screening of his award-winning film “Jimmy Tingle’s American Dream” and a LIVE performance. www.jimmytingle.com Davis Square Theatre
• 9pm — Andy Kindler – www.andykindler.com Davis Square Theatre

Sunday September 16

• 7pm — Prelims hosted by Orlando Baxter - Davis Square Theatre
• 9pm — Prelims host Jim McCue - Davis Square Theatre

Monday September 17

• 7pm — Prelims hosted by Robbie Printz -  Davis Square Theatre
• 9pm — Prelims hosted by Dan Soder - Davis Square Theatre

Tuesday September 18

• 7pm — Prelims hosted by Joe List - Davis Square Theatre
• 9pm — Prelims hosted by Tom Dustin - Davis Square Theatre

Wednesday September 19

• 7pm — Prelims hosted b Mehran with Special Guest Joe Wong  - Davis Square Theatre         8pm — An Evening of Stand-Up Comedy, Storytelling  - presented with The Lost Brothers featuring Mark Riccadonna, Tony V., Kelly MacFarland, DJ Hazard, and more special guests -  Burren
• 8:30pm — Jim Lauletta's Big Gay Comedy Buffet- Dick Dougherty's Boston. Check http://boston.laughstub.com for details. 
• 9pm — Prelims hosted b Mehran with Special Guest Joe Wong - Davis Square Theatre

Thursday September 20

• 7pm — Semi Finals with host Dave McDonough Davis Square Theatre
• 8pm — Mike McCarthy hosts The Cheap and Dirty Show – Burren
• 8:30pm — Boston's Funniest Women -  Dick Dougherty's Boston. Check http://boston.laughstub.com/shows.cfm for details.
• 9pm — Semifinals - Davis Square Theatre

Friday September 21

• 7pm Semifinals — host  Jim Tews with  Special Guest Dave McDonough -Davis Square Theatre
• 9pm Semifinals — host Jim Tews with Special Guest Steve Sweeney - Davis Square Theatre 

Saturday September 22

• 8pm — Tony V hosts BCF Contest Finals and Gala where eight contestants compete head to head for $10k cash prize. Lenny Clarke will receive 2012 Boston Comedy Festival Lifetime Achievement Award at  BCF Finals and Gala Sept. 22, 2012 at Somerville Theatre and The World Champion Judah Friedlander To Be Honored with 2012 BCF Comedian of the Year and Lenny Clarke both presented by BCF's Jim McCue  Somerville Theater
• 8pm — Kevin Meaney – Big Pants People of the world unite… your leader Comedian and Actor is here on he’s on a mission of mirth. Davis Square Theatre
• 10pm — The World Champion Judah Friedlander  www.judahfriedlander.com Davis Square Theatre