Bobby Tessel captures the crowd and squires them away into an atmosphere of comfortableness within seconds of his arrival on stage.

Tessel, an award-winning comedian, headline Feb. 17 Comedy Night at the Ave lineup. The curtain opens at 7:30 p.m. at the iconic theater, 10 Auburn Ave.

Tessel is one of only a few comics to appear on both, “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, and “The Late Show with David Letterman”. He won the Northern Californian Comedy Competition and was a finalist in the San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition.

Tickets are $17, $15. Call Auburn Parks, Arts & Recreation at 253-931-3043, Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-noon, or go online at www.brownpapertickets.com.