Kevin Meaney will headline a fundraiser of comedic proportions March 9 to help ensure the Maple Grove Arts Center can keep people laughing.
The benefit performance, which also stars Scott Hansen and Patrick Stuart, will start luring laughs at the Maple Tavern at 8 p.m. If history repeats itself, there should be no shortage of laughter or people. Meaney’s first appearance in Maple Grove was last year at Comedy on the Green, an outdoor show at the Town Green that drew an overflow crowd of 400 people and sparked a standing ovation. Raising funds for the Arts Center would help keep the outdoor hilarity rolling this summer.
“[Comedy on the Green] was a great event for Maple Grove. People were on the lawn having a picnic while I was doing stand-up, so it was a very different venue than I was used to,” Meaney explains. “But it went over really well. It was a family show and it was G-rated because of the kids, but the parents loved it and the kids had a great time.”
Because of his successful appearance, Scott Hansen, Maple Grove’s resident comedian who is in charge of the series, knew that the go-to person for this particular fundraiser would have to be Meaney.
“It’s very exciting for the Arts Center to have Kevin Meaney come and perform,” says Lorrie Link, executive director of the Maple Grove Arts Center. “He’s made a name for himself in Hollywood and on the comedy circuit, and it’s really exciting that he’d come all the way to Minnesota to help support us.”
Comic from the Start
Meaney will be the first to tell you that comedy is something he’s always done, sometimes without even thinking about it.
“I started comedy in grade school—getting into trouble, making people laugh and getting sent to the principal’s office—and I just took to open mics from there.” Meaney says.
He started doing stand-up in 1980 at the very start of the stand-up comedy scene in San Francisco at a place called The Other Café with the likes of Dana Carvey and Robin Williams. They’d go out to dinner after their performances and talk about comedy and bounce ideas off of each other.
“At that time, New York, San Francisco and Boston were the main areas for comedy, so that was kind of your scene,” Meaney says. “My objective was to be seen in a comedy club and then move on to TV and film.”
Meaney’s succeeded in that objective, as he’s moved from his debut appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson to Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Conan. Other appearances include 30 Rock, his role as Uncle Buck in the CBS sitcom and a featured role in the movie Big. He’s also appeared on Broadway in Hairspray. He’s currently working on a TV web series called In The Middle, which will debut by April on salon.com.
A Style All His Own
A multi-talented observational comedian, his act has been described as “…what the precocious love child of Jonathan Winters and Ethel Merman would be like” by TV critic Tom Shales of The Washington Post.
Meaney draws his material from his life. He talks about his relationships with his mom, dad, and brothers, as well as his experience of coming out as gay about five years ago to his wife and family.
According to Hansen, who’s worked with Meaney for 20 years, his style is wacky and funny.
“People laugh at him and with him at the same time,” Hansen says. “He’s got a character that he’s created that creates a performance. He’s a great personality on stage and he’s high energy. He’s created catch phrases that work with his character, and he includes his family and stories about his parents that are a bit dysfunctional—but we all are. He also sings in his act as well.”
Hansen, who has taught comedy classes at the Maple Grove Arts Center, also admires Meaney because he takes his comedy to a higher level as a performer and a comedian. With his talents as a writer, director and producer, he puts people on the stage and develops them as an actor.
Meany’s wide range of abilities and make him a nice fit for the Arts Center, according to Link.
“[Comedy on the Green] educates the public on comedy as an art, and it’s not that much different than other forms,” Link says. “It doesn’t hang on the wall or come out as a form of music, but it creates laughter and draws out an emotion like art should.”
If You Go
When: Friday March 9 at 8 p.m.
Where: Maple Tavern Bar and Grill
Tickets: $20 in advance and $25 at the door or $89.95 for a VIP table for 4. Tickets can be purchased online at brownpapertickets.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006
For more info, click on this image link:
