Over 30 Years of Experience!
Tom Riehl’s first stab at producing comedy shows was in 1992 at the Holiday Inn in Laguna Hills, CA (formerly The Hills Hotel) after only doing stand-up for about a year. “The hotel was just down the street from my house, so one Sunday night I drove over and wandered in to the lounge area and noticed the place was empty at 7PM. The only person there was the bartender.” The very next day Tom went back to meet with the GM and proposed a comedy night featuring different comedians each week. He would do it for $75 a show. The weekly show ended up running for 5 years, which even by today’s standards is a long run for a stand-up comedy show. Over those years Tom made many connections with comedians as well as had a place to perform each and every week.
Since then, Tom has been producing some of the longest running stand-up shows in Orange County. He just finished a five year run with the monthly Lass Your Aff Off! show at the Z Playhouse in Mission Viejo. Prior to that he was co-producer of Second Stage Stand-up at the Camino Real Playhouse in San Juan Capistrano (with longtime friend and comedian Ron Ruhman) which ran for 12 years, the longest running stand-up show in Orange County. In 2016, Tom began producing another monthly show, the original Lass Your Aff Off! at Adele’s at The San Clemente Inn. This show ran monthly for over five years. Tom is also the producer of Laughs for Leathernecks, an annual event held at the Irvine Improv benefiting the Dana Point Marines and their families, as well as co-producer of the Funniest Housewives Comedy Competition.
In addition to these monthly shows, Tom also produces, as well as performs in countless corporate, private, and charitable events throughout the year.