A middle-age white man stands on stage and addresses the audience. Then a skinny, black teenage boy, followed by a robust Jewish man in his 20s or 30s wearing a yarmulke.

They're from the Baltimore area and as far away as York, Pa., and each has just a few minutes to deliver big laughs.

Professional comedians are the usual feature at Magooby's Joke House, in Timonium, which is open every Thursday through Saturday, with some Sundays and Wednesdays.

But on Thursdays the admission price, normally $14 per person, is cut in half, and amateurs are given a chance to sling humor and make a name for themselves.

"I love comedy, and it just made sense for me to own a comedy club," said Andrew Unger, owner of Magooby's.

"I'd had lots of different jobs," the Owings Mills resident said. "Nothing anywhere was as fulfilling as owning a comedy club."

"I get such positive feedback from our customers, I leave every night feeling good about myself," he said.

The club moved from Harford Road, in Parkville, to Deereco Road last September — taking the space where Lorenzo's Dinner Theatre used to operate.

Business is apparently good for comedy. Even on amateur night.

"The thing about comedy is it's pretty much recession-proof," Unger said.

On a recent Thursday this month, about a dozen amateurs tested their comic chops on the stage at Magooby's.

Hundreds of people filled the stadium-seating auditorium and split their sides over topics one doesn't normally joke about in public, and some that were certainly not family-friendly.

Sex, race, drugs and subjects not fit to print — nothing is off-limits.

But isn't that what comedy's all about: doing and saying things people normally don't — or aren't supposed to? And that is why we laugh.

Night of 1,000 jokes

Why give the stage to a group of wannabe comics?

"It's a 'bringer' show," Unger said of amateur night. "I didn't invent this."

Bringer shows are an institution of the comedy club scene. In the case of Magooby's, a bringer show means a wannabe stand-up comic must bring at least five admission-paying customers to get on stage.

The comic then gets five minutes to send the audience rolling.

If the comic brings more than five people to the club, they get more minutes on stage.

"You max out at 10," Unger said.

The brevity seems to work well for people just trying to break in to the business. If a comedian is testing new jokes — and they bomb — it benefits neither the comic, the club nor the audience to have them on stage for a half-hour.

"It's a way to get a nice size audience," Unger said of the bringer shows.

Usually about 160 people come to the Thursday shows. On July 14, about 240 were on hand.

But whether the amateurs are flops or hits, the bringer shows always end with a headliner comic to give the audience their money's worth.

Headliners are one of the reasons Unger chose the Timonium venue.

"Comics with bigger credits don't perform at places less than 300 (seats)," Unger said.

Magooby's can hold almost 400.

Unger, 43, moved to the Baltimore area as a child in 1977 from New York and thinks of the area as home.

Unger got into the comedy business through his older brother, Mark, who is a "headliner" and works at clubs all over the country, Unger said.

Mark was performing at what used to be Tracy's Comedy Club in Parkville, Unger said, and made the suggestion that his brother buy the business.

So he took over management of Tracy's four years ago and, over about three years, took it from 100 customers a week to 500 a week.

"I spend a lot of time marketing," Unger said.

After renaming the club Magooby's and moving to Deereco Road in September, Unger has continued growing the business and solidifying his connections to the community.

Serious comedy

One of those efforts fits with Unger's personal interests. He has a son with autism, and he wanted to do a fundraiser for something disability-related.

"In February, we did an 81-hour comedy marathon," he said. "(We) wanted to break the Guinness World Record for the longest stand-up show."

Unger gathered comedians who promised to spend a minimum of 30 minutes on stage.

"We had something like 80 comedians," Unger said.

During the 81-hour marathon, all the money from admission, food sales and drink sales — minus the pay for his kitchen and wait staff — was donated to Special Olympics of Maryland.

"We raised $40,000," Unger said.

Breaking the Guinness record wasn't easy, however.

"One of the requirements is you must have 10 people in the audience at any given time," Unger said.

In the wee hours of the morning, the audience got pretty close to that, but never quite dropped below.

Unger attributes that to the audience members, some of whom were so dedicated to breaking the record — or helping Special Olympics — that they stuck it out.

Unger said he's never completely satisfied with anything.

"I want it to be the best comedy club in Maryland, and I believe it is," he said.

One thing about Magooby's that's a bit odd, however, is the name of the place. It's both funny and fun to say — but that's the idea.

Whenever Unger calls someone, he says "it's Andrew from Magooby's" and the person on the other end of the line laughs.

Magooby's is a combination of parts of his children's nicknames, he said.

"It's actually my brother who came up with the name," he said. "Its' definitely a name that sticks with people."

For more information about Magooby's Joke House, 9603 Deereco Road, Timonium, go to http://www.magoobys.com or call 410-252-2727.