Tickle Me Tuesday Producer Passes the Reigns

 Producer Stepping Down

Local comics Tonge, Bost set to take over popular stand-up comedy showcase

Allentown, PA—Ryan Hill, the Bethlehem man who started the Lehigh Valley’s only stand-up comedy showcase – Tickle Me Tuesdays at the Allentown Brew Works – will be stepping aside as its producer after the March 15th show. Randy Tonge, of Breinigsville, and Steve Bost, of Bethlehem, will co-produce the show once Hill has left the post.

Hill, who is leaving to focus on his new position as the Programming Manager in charge of Comedy & Cinema at the soon-to-open ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, has put nearly two hundred comics on stage during his three years as producer of TMT, many of which come from the Lehigh Valley. “There wasn’t a stage like this for Lehigh Valley comedians before Tickle Me Tuesdays,” says Tonge. “I know that I am a much stronger comic because this show exists, and Steve and I both will make sure young Valley comics can continue to use it as a stepping stone to bigger shows.”

Tonge will handle booking for Tickle Me Tuesdays, which includes the professional headliner that has always capped off each edition, while Bost – the co-host of SteelTrap Trivia at the Bethlehem Brew Works – will work with the Allentown Brew Works to run each show. “I made my comedy debut at Tickle Me Tuesdays, unless you count the two small music open mics Ryan made me do the night before where nobody really listened to me,” says Bost. “This show has built a community of stand-up comics in the region; I’m honored to be working with Randy to run it.”

Tonge and Bost were picked by Hill to take over control of Tickle Me Tuesdays. “Randy and Steve have performed on more Tickle Me Tuesdays than anyone else,” says Hill. “They’ll do an excellent job in not only continuing in the tradition of getting the Valley’s young comics experience alongside professionals, but they’ll also infuse a new life to the show and take it to places I otherwise could not have. It was a hard realization to come to that I’d have to step down. It was made much easier when Randy and Steve said they’d take over.”

The three anniversary shows of Tickle Me Tuesdays, all of which Hill held as benefits for the American Diabetes Association in honor of his late grandmother, combined to earn nearly $2,500 for the charity. “I am incredibly proud of what this show has accomplished,” says Hill. “Not just in raising money for the ADA, but also in the fact that some of the young performers from when we started are now working in New York regularly. Hell, even I’m working regularly on the weekends, and that says a lot for what this show has been able to do.” Hill will still perform on the show “so long as Randy and Steve invite me to.” Says Bost: “eh… about that…”

To arrange interviews with Hill, Tonge and Bost, contact them at ticklemetues@gmail.com.