Delaware's hottest comedy shows are purposely secretive. This is how you can find them.

Ever since the stand-up comedy boom of the 1980s and 1990s, it's been difficult for regular comedy series to survive in Delaware.

It was back in 1980 when Comedy Cabaret first opened in Wilmington and drew big crowds before running through several homes and eventually conceding defeat more than a decade ago. Along with them, many more comedy series and comedy clubs have come and gone.

So when a new stand-up comedy series launched in The First State last year, you would have to forgive if a few laughed (for the wrong reason.)

Throw in the fact that the group, called Don't Tell Comedy , is based in Los Angeles and doesn't tell ticket-buyers where the show is being held until the day of, it would make sense to be doubtful about their chances.

And that's before you even get to another unique wrinkle: comedy fans don't know who the featured comedians are until they jump on stage.

But a funny thing happened when Don't Tell Comedy started hosting shows up and down the state ― fans came out.

Fifteen months after their first show, Don't Tell Comedy Delaware has now hosted more than 100 shows, in venues from Wilmington, Newark, Greenville and Hockessin to Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, Dover and Marydel.

And in the process, they've proven they'll be delivering punchlines in Delaware ― not becoming one themselves.

"We've found there's a real thirst for it here in Delaware," says comedian Daniel Crow, statewide producer for Don't Tell Comedy Delaware. "People like the mystery aspect. You can Google anything these days and this is something you can't Google."

Comedy shows in delis, diners and just about anywhere else

Keeping the venues and acts secret aren't Don't Tell Comedy's only unique twists.

All shows are held at non-traditional, unique venues. They range from delis, breweries, movie theaters and retail shops to golf clubs, comic book stores, dance studios and diners. They'll even perform in a backyard if requested.

On Friday night, about 30 comedy fans who paid $25 for tickets, streamed into Spaceboy Clothing (205 N Market St., Wilmington) where a stage already had been set up for the music performances regularly held at the store.

People sat on folding chairs as the stand-ups, who used a cordoned off bathroom as a green room of sorts, came up one by one to joke about everything from politics to their day jobs during the 90-minute show.

"I appreciate you when I take my sick days and go to the beach," New Jersey-based comedian and school teacher Aaron Rosen joked with an audience member when he learned she worked as a substitute teacher.

For Spaceboy co-owner David Sanchez, who is also the artist behind the robot street art that has recently popped up across Wilmington , it's a perfect fit.

His shop has hosted different comedy series of its own in the past, along with other artistic presentations ranging from concerts to art shows.

"It's awesome. I love it. We wanted to do more of this anyway," Sanchez said shortly before the comedians began their show at his shop's new location in the LOMA district. "They set it up and all we have to do is host it and open the doors."

Don't Tell Comedy goes worldwide

Don't Tell Comedy was founded in 2017 in Los Angeles by CEO Kyle Kazanjian-Amory, a comic who had graduated from college just three years prior.

In the years since, his stealth comedy series has mushroomed and now hosts shows in 200 American cities, along with performances in Canada, France, Australia, Germany and England.

They average around 90 shows a week across their network and have hosted about 7,000 different comedians over its seven-year run.

Crow says comedians actually enjoy the off-beat locales for the concerts, like the time they hosted a show at Salty Paws in Rehoboth Beach ― an ice cream shop that sells frozen treats for dogs.

"It was weird, but it's just a great opportunity to make jokes about dog ice cream," says Crow, a 32-year old Salesianum School graduate who has been doing comedy for 13 years and lives in Newark.

In Delaware, you can see comedians from Los Angeles to Amsterdam

Crow usually books two shows each weekend in Delaware ― one each upstate and downstate. Shows range from intimate 30-person audiences to 150 people at their visit to the outdoor Schellville stage near Rehoboth Beach.

Since Delaware isn't home to many stand-up comedians, hometown acts are hard to come by at shows, although a few including Rehoboth Beach's Tyler Dark and Bear-based Thomas "Scooter" Wilkerson have surfaced for hometown shows through Don't Tell Comedy.

That means most acts are from across the region with comedians from Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, Washington D.C., and Baltimore taking the stage in Delaware.

But it's not unusual for some to come from way out of town. So far, Delaware shows have hosted jokesters from Los Angeles, Denver and Texas with some even coming from as far as Amsterdam and Belgium.

Going into the launch of Don't Tell Comedy in Delaware, Crow knew the state was not a hotbed for stand-up comedy. He himself has performed a few shows here, but had to build his comedy career outside of Delaware.

"I was thinking, 'Well, we might as well try.' I don't see why people wouldn't want to laugh here, so if it fails it fails," Crow remembers of his early days starting the series in Delaware. "But as soon as we started doing them, people started coming out and showed us there really is demand here."

For a list of upcoming shows in New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties, go to linktr.ee/donttellde .

Locations of Don't Tell Comedy shows in Delaware

• Born To Game, Dover
• Esteem Streetwear, Dover
• Harvest Ridge Winery, Marydel
• Loblolly Acres, Viola
• 95 Game Center, Wilmington
• Ascend Flow Arts, Wilmington
• Bellefonte Brewing Company, Wilmington
• Blue Horizons Dive Center, Wilmington
• Cafeneo, Newark
• Camp Adventureland, Middletown
• Captain Blue Hen Comics, Newark
• Days Of Knights, Newark
• Ed Oliver Golf Club, Wilmington
• Goober’s Diner, Wilmington
• Greenbank Mills & Philips Farm, Wilmington
• Hell’s Belles, Wilmington
• Hockessin Bookshelf, Hockessin
• Huxley & Hiro, Wilmington
• Hyatt Place, Newark
• International Groove Records, Newark
• Kaffe Karma, Greenville
• Klondike Kate’s, Newark
• Lucky’s Coffee Shop, Wilmington
• Newark Bike Project, Newark
• Rainbow Records, Newark
• Scout Cafe, Wilmington
• Sound Body Studio, Wilmington
• Spaceboy Clothing, Wilmington
• Squeezebox Records, Wilmington
• Stitch House Brewery, Wilmington
• Take The Lead Dance Studio, Hockessin
• Theatre N, Wilmington
• Delaware Center For Horticulture, Wilmington
• Delaware Pinball Collective, Wilmington
• The Mill, Wilmington
• The Quoin Hotel, Wilmington
• Torbert Street Social, Wilmington
• Westown Movies, Middletown
• Boardwalk Plaza Hotel, Rehoboth Beach
• Children’s Beach House, Lewes
• CoWork Reho, Rehoboth Beach
• Dewey Beer Company, Milton
• Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton
• Dream Big Performing Arts Center, Delmar
• Fin’s Ale House And Raw Bar, Rehoboth Beach
• Fractured Prune, Rehoboth Beach
• Grandpa Mac, Rehoboth Beach
• Hammer & Stain DIY Workshop, Lewes
• Lewes Diner, Lewes
• Lewes Public Library, Lewes
• Rehoboth Beach Barbell Club, Rehoboth Beach
• Rehoboth Beach Public Library, Rehoboth Beach
• Rise Up Coffee, Rehoboth Beach
• Rosenfeld’s Jewish Deli, Rehoboth Beach
• Salty Paws, Bethany Beach
• Schellville Village, Rehoboth Beach
• The Coffee House, Rehoboth Beach
• The Listening Booth, Lewes
• The Wheelhouse, Lewes
• The Yoga Studio, Rehoboth Beach
• Tough Luck, Lewes

Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook ( @ryancormier ) and X ( @ryancormier ).

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware's hottest comedy shows are purposely secretive. This is how you can find them.