Best of the Store XL - Esther Povitsky, Pauly Shore, Steph Tolev, Harland Williams, Finesse Mitchell, Greg Fitzsimmons +more!

Esther Lauren Povitsky, also known as Little Esther, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer living in Los Angeles, California. She is the co-creator and star of the comedy series Alone Together. Povitsky moved to Los Angeles to pursue stand-up comedy and acting full-time after attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She studied comedy at iO Chicago, The Second City, and The Groundlings. She frequently performs stand-up comedy at venues throughout Los Angeles, California, including The Comedy Store, The Ice House, and The Improv. She plays Maya on the critically acclaimed series Crazy Ex Girlfriend. Other recent television appearances include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Love, and Parks and Recreation. Povitsky also survived several rounds of 2015's Last Comic Standing (season 9), drawing praise from judge Roseanne Barr in particular. Povitsky was the first female guest to appear on The Joe Rogan Experience, after which she began podcasting with DEATHSQUAD regularly. She hosted Little Esther's Piecast and co-hosts Brode & Esther with fellow comedian Brody Stevens as well as Weird Adults with Little Esther and Glowing Up with Esther and Caroline. She often appears as a guest on the network's Ice House Chronicles. In 2012, Povitsky turned down an offer from MTV to do a reality show based on her life as a comedian because she felt the series would be too invasive. In 2015, Povitsky wrote, starred in, and self-produced the short film Alone Together. The short was later adapted into a pilot for Freeform, produced by The Lonely Island. In December 2016, the pilot was picked up to series. In October, 2017, Freeform renewed the series for a second season ahead of its January 2018 debut.

Steph Tolev is a stand up and sketch comedian from Toronto, Canada currently living in Los Angeles. Her unique brand of absurd and personal comedy has made her an audience favorite across North America both on stage and on television. As a stand up, Steph has done the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal four times, three of which were taped for TV and air on the Comedy Network. Steph made her American TV debut on on Comedy Central part of Bill Burr’s new show “The Ringers”. She was recently named one of Vultures “Comics You Should and Will Know” and one of Comedy Central’s “Up Next” comics to watch. She also co-wrote and co-stars in the Comedy Central web series ” Steph & Deb” with comedian Deb Digiovanni. Steph can also be seen in the Amazon show “Please Understand Me” produced by Sarah Silverman and was featured in season two of “Corporate” on Comedy Central. Steph has won the Canadian Comedy Award for Best Female Stand up and was a finalist in Sirius XM’s next top comic.nn She was well-received at the acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Fest, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Clusterfest, Laughing Skull Festival, San Fran Sketch Fest, High Plaines, Big Sky Festival, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver Sketch Fest’s, NXNE, and JFL42. Steph has released four albums, “So Many Wolves” in 2014 with her sketch duo Ladystache and most recently “Older & Wider”. On her own she has ” Hot N’ Hungry” from 2016 and just recently “I’m Not Well” that was nominated for a Juno Award for Best Comedy Album.

Comedian and actor Harland Williams is known the world over for his hilarious movie roles and outlandish stand-up and sketch comedy routines.nnWilliams was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Lorraine Mary (O’Donnell), a social worker, and John Reesor Williams, a lawyer who served in the Ontario legislature. Williams has starred in numerous unforgettable roles such as the pee-drinking cop in “Dumb and Dumber”, the loveable horse-killing stoner, Kenny in “Half Baked”, the hitchhiking serial killer in “There’s Something About Mary”, the silent motorcycle stud Slater, in “Superstar”, the goof-ball astronaut Fred Z. Randall in “Rocketman,” the whale-calling Sonar in “Down Periscope”, and Robert/Roberta in the world of “Sorority Boys.”nnWilliams is also seen regularly on “Late Night with David Letterman,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brian.” He has done solo stand-up comedy specials for HBO, Comedy Central, CTV, and CBC. In addition to his on-screen roles, Williams has provided voices for several animated productions including “Robots” and is also an accomplished author and illustrator of his own series of children’s books involving a little brontosaurus named Lickety Split.

Finesse Mitchell has been seen almost everywhere. He’s currently on Hulu’s History Of The World Part II playing the Rev. Jesse Jackson opposite of Wanda Sykes. He’s guest-hosted for The Wendy Williams talk show on Fox. He’s a guest judge on Netflix’s, “Is It Cake?”, a favorite celeb guest on Pictionary, and Fox’s last Lego-Masters Bricktacular holiday event. Finesse has been a multi-faceted actor, author, and stand-up comedian with four one-hour comedy specials titled, “Snap Famous”, “One Man Monster”, “The Spirit Told Me To Tell You” and 2023’s self-produced “Slightly Offensive” under his belt. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Finesse graduated from the University of Miami and is a distinguished member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated. He is also a former student-athlete who was a walk-on for the National Champion Hurricanes football team where he played Hurricane greats like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Warren Sapp, and Ray Lewis.nnFinesse entered the comedy scene in 1999 with appearances on BET’s Comic View and Comedy Central. In 2003, he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live for three seasons where he played the memorable “Starrkeisha” and frequently appeared on “Weekend Update” with Seth Myers as Morgan Freeman, 50 Cent, and Bobby Brown. In addition to being an SNL Alum, his other television acting credits include NBC’s Kenan, Fox’s Outmatched, ABC’s Splitting Up Together, Showtime’s Roadies, Disney Channel’s A.N.T. Farm (China’s Dad), and TBS Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns.nnMitchell has also appeared on daytime talk shows such as The Talk on CBS, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Real, Dish Nation, and NBC’s Today Show. During late-night, you might have seen him on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Seth Meyers, The Arsenio Hall Show, and Comic’s Unleashed just tonname a few. You can also catch Finesse starring in movies like Mad Money, Who’s Your Caddy, The Comebacks, and Mad Families. In 2022, Mitchell starred in OWN’s holiday Christmas movie, “Great Holiday Bake War” with more feature film projects on the way.nnFinesse resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Adris Debarge, and their two daughters, Elle and Eva Mitchell.

Amir K has been entertaining audiences for 10 years, performing live across the U.S. and on Television.nnHis fun, unique approach to storytelling brings audiences together through his improvisational talent, characters and charisma. Born in Iran and raised in Southern California, Amir offers a unique point of view shaped by his multi-cultural upbringing.nnAmir currently stars in the primetime CW reboot of MADtv and has been seen on Adam Devine’s House Party on Comedy Central, Comedy Knock Out on True TV, NBC’s Last Comic Standing and MTV’s Jerks with Cameras. Amir is best known for his stand-up comedy, but is also an accomplished actor. He won a SAG award for his role in the Oscar winning film Argo and recently starred in The FOX feature film The Pyramid opposite Denis O’Hare and Ashley Grace.nnAmir can be seen live headlining comedy clubs and theaters all over the U.S. as well as internationally.

Rick Ingraham, originally from Kansas, has been a stand-up comedian and actor for over 20 years. Onstage, he specializes in crowd work and insult comedy. nnHe can be seen performing several nights a week at the Comedy Store and other Hollywood clubs and also co-hosts the Comedy Store podcast. Early in his career, Rick toured with Pauly Shore and Andrew Dice Clay. nnRick is also a commercial actor and has appeared in many national campaigns.

Comedian, producer, podcaster, future Bond girl. My Ding Dong Show is the longest running show in the history of The Comedy Store. As seen in Windy City Heat and Showtime's Comedy Store Documentary.