As a veteran of New York City’s Arab American Comedy Festival, comedian Mike Mosallam knew that the idea had a ton of potential if it could just find the right audience.

“Love Match,” a dating show spoof with fictional host Khaled Woolery, far left, drew big laughs from the Ford Performing Arts Center crowd at the 3rd Annual Arab American Comedy Show. PHOTOS: Nick Meyer/TAAN

And then it hit him: Why not bring a similar spectacle back home to Dearborn with him?
From there, Mosallam got together a group of his comedy-inclined friends and decided to give it a go.

On Friday and Saturday, August 14 and 15 at the Ford Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, the Third Annual Arab American Comedy Show showed director Mosallam’s comedic vision in front of almost 2,000 people in a show that had much of the crowd in stitches from start to finish.

“The crowd was great, it exceeded all of our expectations and we were thrilled and blessed to have such a great turnout from the community,” said Mosallam.

Even those who aren’t usually impressed with his work couldn’t help but lose themselves in fits of laughter during skit after skit aimed at poking fun and “demystifying” Arab culture.

“The shows have been exceptionally well-received; some of my toughest critics said it was the best show in three years,” said Mosallam. “Even my mother told me she liked it. She’s my hardest critic and this was the first time she said she laughed all the way through.”

The sketch comedy assaulted the audiences from all angles with skits ranging from the American Idol spoof “Fettahin Idol” to audience favorites like the Love Match (enthusiastically pronounced “Lovvvve Mat-itch!” by oddball host Khaled Woolery) dating game and a multi-part video spoof of the MTV show “Made” in which Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly’s son is coached up to be a Dearborn “hawk,” in other words a macho, well-groomed pretty boy with a penchant for designer t-shirts and gobs of hair gel.

Mosallam and his group Mizna Entertainment plan to make videos of the show available on the Internet some time in the coming weeks through their Web site www.mizna.tv, Youtube.com, and their Facebook group “Arab American Comedy Show.”

“We’re looking to create new ways to entertain people through the new media,” said Mosallam about the group’s ventures.

Mosallam is excited about the potential of the show and Arab American comedy in general and believes that the show will be an annual tradition for many years to come.

And judging by the responses of the audience and the community-at-large, Mosallam’s project looks like a safe bet to come back for another highly-entertaining show in 2010.

 

Arab American Comedy Show actors portrayed the roles of Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, and Ryan Seacrest in the sketch “Fettahin Idol” based on the popular TV Show “American Idol.”