Jeff Ross To Host First-Ever ‘Roast of New Jersey’ Next February

The Count Basie Center for the Arts will host The Roast of New Jersey on Saturday, Feb. 28. This marks the first time an entire state has been the subject of a comedy roast. Jeff Ross will host the one-night-only show. The lineup features Joey "Coco" Diaz, Brian "Q" Quinn, Tiki Barber, Rich Vos, Chris Gethard, Bonnie McFarlane, Donnell Rawlings, Natalie Cuomo, Joe Gorga, Vinnie Brand, and others.

A mystery guest will close out the evening to defend the Garden State. This performer will offer "a rebuttal ... to anyone who makes fun of the state's rest stops, industrial lands, and the Pork Roll versus Taylor Ham debate, according to the venue," per app.com.

Ross, known as the Roastmaster General, has produced and hosted celebrity roasts for Justin Bieber, Tom Brady, Alec Baldwin, Bruce Willis, and Donald Trump. He worked with Netflix to deliver Torching 2024 and produced The Greatest Roast of All Time with Tom Brady. His television work includes producing and starring in Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle. He co-starred with Dave Attell in the Netflix series Bumping Mics.

Brian "Q" Quinn, a Staten Island native, serves as executive producer, creator, and star of Impractical Jokers. The show is shooting its 12th season after reaching nearly 300 episodes. A theatrical film came out in 2019. Quinn has sold out shows at Madison Square Garden and hosted his first Q West Comedy Escape in Key West this year.

Joey "Coco" Diaz appeared on Netflix as mobster Buddha Bonpensiero in The Many Saints of Newark. His credits span Taxi, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Longest Yard, and Spider-Man 2. His first hour special, Sociably Unacceptable, can be found on Amazon Prime and Peacock. His 2023 book, Tremendous: The Life of a Comedy Savage, made the New York Times bestseller list.

The event is part of the theater's Centennial Celebration, which launched on Nov. 11, 1926 as the Reade's Carlton theater. The celebration includes the introduction of Basie's Walk of Fame. It also features the debut of the outdoor ParkStage venue in Freehold next summer.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 12, at theBASIE.org, the box office, and Ticketmaster.com. Members get early access to tickets. The show starts at 8 p.m. at 99 Monmouth St. in Red Bank.