ROANOKE – A nationally known comedian is in the Star City this weekend, performing as part of a fundraiser for a scholarship to honor former Salem High School student Amy Daulton.
Daulton graduated from Salem High School in 1990, working as a stand-up comedian based in Los Angeles and New York. She even made an appearance on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."
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After she died in 2015, her friends and family started an annual comedy show as a way to raise money for a scholarship in her honor.
Saturday night, Christy McBrayer, one of Daulton's closest friends in the comedy world, will perform her one-woman show, Southern Fried Chickie.
"She is one of the most special people I've ever met," says McBrayer. "I love her family and I am so proud to be here raising the money for her name and the scholarship."
Proceeds from the non-stop night of comedy will benefit the Salem Educational Foundation and Alumni Association scholarship in Daulton's name. Once endowed, the scholarship will be granted to a Salem High School senior with plans to study theater.
"It's their way of carrying on her memory, not only through the scholarship but through the comedy show each year," says Tommy McDonald, a friend of Daulton's and the president of the Salem Education Foundation. "This is something they want to continue to do on an annual basis."
Four of Daulton's friends and stand-up comedy colleagues are also coming from New York to open the show. They include Omar Capra ("Spider Man: Homecoming"), Courtney Maginnis (Brooklyn Comedy Festival and "Cherry Bomb"), Shelley Hamilton (She Devil Comedy Festival), and Matthew Kelly (Stand-up NY).
The show is Saturday at the Holiday Inn Valley View on Ordway Drive. It starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 each or $40 per couple. Click here for more details.