Boca-based Comic Cure Hosts Nightly Trivia for the Quarantined Masses

Originating in the Netherlands, what is a stroopwafel? During Prohibition, what alcoholic beverage was legally allowed if you had a doctor’s note? What is the world record, to the closest second, for solving a Rubik’s Cube?

These represent just a sample of the useless knowledge webcasting nightly from the Facebook page of Comic Cure, the standup comedy and humor promoter based partly in Boca Raton. In normal times, Comic Cure brings emerging and established comic talent to Boca venues including the Elk’s Lodge. Instead, each night since March 19—except Sundays and holidays—at 10 p.m., comedian Rich Leis and his co-hosts, mother-son duo Hilary and Noah Morris, have been hosting an hour of trivia whose theme is determined by the previous night’s winner. Topics have included “bacon,” “Motown” and “scary movies.”

“We’re an entertainment business, so we asked ourselves, ‘How can we adapt to this new environment and embrace technology?,” says Comic Cure co-founder Ben Leis, of Boca Raton, on the trivia night’s origins. “We wanted to keep our audiences engaged and provide an oasis at the end of the day that was silly, fun, interactive and stress-relieving.”

Ben says the venture has amassed a steady online audience of 10 to 20 regular players, and more are welcome to join the party here. “Points” are awarded for witty answers, poignant answers and, of course, correct answers, but. like a certain improv series, they don’t mean much.

“It’s like ‘Who’s Line is it Anyway…’” Leis says. “We try to make every aspect funny, so we award ridiculous amounts of points for correct answers and funny answers. Sometimes the point amounts are symbolic; for instance, the answer to one of the questions was Kobe Bryant, so we awarded 2,400 points. We don’t really keep track of the points, but we do name a winner each night based on the number of questions they answer correctly.”

Trivia is just one of the ways Comic Cure has been donating its quarantine time. Since the coronavirus shutdown began, Leis has been hosting “South Florida Feud,” an online game, similar to “Family Feud,” in which more than 100 players try to guess the most popular answer to a series of fun prompts. You can sign up to play here.

None of Comic Cure’s founders are making any money off these community campfires, so any donations to the company are welcome, and can be made at comiccure.com/donate. As Ben Leis says, “Life is challenging right now, but what’s different about a pandemic is that we’re all experiencing the challenge together. By laughing, and laughing together, we can provide a sort of group therapy that allows us to de-stress and heal with positive emotions and enjoyable moments.”

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