Carrot Top performs in Sarasota

Carrot Top has been described as a culmination of George Carlin, Steven Wright and Gallagher. It was Carrot Top who described himself that way, so we can assume he's being just a bit tongue-in-cheek.

He may not be the icon that Carlin is, but stylistically, Scott "Carrot Top" Thompson does combine Carlin's observational humor, Wright's twisted wryness and, of course, Gallagher's props. He's been doing the same kind of comedy for something like 30 years now, and audiences never tire of it.

He performs most often in Las Vegas these days, but he's making a rare trip to Florida this month. It's his first set of Florida appearances in over a decade, and it includes a stop at Sarasota's Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Saturday.

Carrot Top is a native Floridian. He grew up in Cocoa and got his start in stand-up at open-mic nights at Florida Atlantic University when he was a student there. He started using props in his second appearance and has never stopped adding to his arsenal of self-built creative sight gags.

Details: 8 p.m. Dec. 12, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $30-$55. Information: 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Carrot Top performs in Sarasota ."