A night of comedy
Last night we went to see Denis Leary and friends at Emerson’s Cutler Majestic Theatre. It was a night of comedy presented by and for Emerson Alumni. Denis is Class of ’79. The show was emceed by comedian Bill Dana (Class of ’50) and Doug Herzog, President of Comedy Central, Spike TV and TV Land (Class of ’81).
We watched each comedian do about 20 minutes of material, starting with Tom Shillue (Class of ’89). He was hilarious. Bill Burr (Class of ’93) was awesome. His act was the funniest thing I’ve seen in months. His bit about letting dogs keep their balls, which ended with, “I’m pro-dog balls” had me in tears.
Anthony Clark (Class of ’86) followed, and I never realized just how much of an Emerson Kid he was before. Watching him on that stage, in that setting of alumni, it was so clear that he had the mannerisms and humor of Emerson kids. He seemed like someone I could have gone to school with.
Eddie Brill (Class of ’80) followed that. Sadly, I didn’t think he was very funny. He seemed more preachy than funny. He was talking about feeding kids sugar and that’s why they’re hyper and fat, and religion and politics and none of it was humorous. It was more like social commentary.
Steven Wright (Class of ’78) followed. I’ve never been a huge fan of his, just because his delivery is so deadpan. But he was really funny. He says the stuff people only think of at 4am when trying to fall asleep. For example, “It’s a small world, but I wouldn’t want to paint it.”
Denis followed with his band – Chris Phillips (’80), Adam Roth (’80) and C.P. Roth and Alex Morton. Denis, Chris, Adam and Eddie Brill started the Emerson Comedy Workshop 30 years ago. It’s still running today, and the event was a way to raise money for a comedy scholarship the group is starting.
Denis and the band started with the “Asshole” song. They did a couple of others, including a blues song about Mel Gibson loving tequila and hating Jews that was HILARIOUS. One thing many people never remember is that Denis has a great singing voice.
After the band, everyone came back out to do a Q&A with the audience. Most people had questions for Denis – about “Rescue Me” mainly. Someone finally asked the question I was waiting for- is Denis really the reason we weren’t allowed on the roof of the dorms. And it’s true. I heard the story a couple of months ago when Denis spoke at Emerson. After Game 6 of the playoffs, when the Red Sox won, a kid they hated (because he was a Cincinatti Reds fan and from Jersey) was walking by. They were on the roof with a barrel full of ice and water that had previously held beer. Naturally, they dumped the freezing water on the guy. Since then, Emerson students have been banned from visiting the roof.
We had a great time at the show. The Majestic is gorgeous. We also heard excellent news: “Rescue Me” is signed on through the fourth season.
Filed under: Comedy, Everyday Life