Comedy Show of the Week: Kevin Nealon

Maybe you caught his holiday shopping trip to the Westfield Mall as a segment on Ellen this last November, or perhaps you are deep into the multiple seasons of the Showtime comedy series Weeds. But even if you only remember him from the nine years he was featured on Saturday Night Live, you should consider checking out his stand-up on Wednesday, January 25, at the Lobero Theatre. The comic’s been weekend touring with his latest act since September to prepare for the taping of a Showtime special that airs this April, and his delivery is razor-sharp. In addition, Nealon has grown a lot since his SNL days, and, if you have been a fan of Weeds, you will notice that a little of his character Doug Wilson has rubbed off on him, and that, for the sake of comedy, at least, is a very good thing.

I spoke with Nealon a couple of weeks ago about where he hopes to go with the material he’s bringing to S.B. He told me that he enjoys the stand-up, but that he wishes people would remember that he’s not actually the perpetually stoned accountant he plays on Weeds. “People have come up to me after the show and invited me to partake with them. When I tell them that I, Kevin Nealon, do not personally smoke marijuana, they usually wink and say, ‘That’s cool, man. Neither do we, you know, if anyone’s asking.’ Actually, we do smoke on the set, but we use this honey-rose herb mixture. In fact, the series has been on so long now, and we have had to smoke so much of that stuff, that I think we may be inadvertently subsidizing some kind of honey-rose herb cartel somewhere.”

It’s this slightly deadpan style that defines Nealon’s onstage presence; oftentimes he sneaks up on you with how outrageous he can be. “I’ve been listening to myself more as I get ready for the taping,” said Nealon, “and I find that earlier on, I was putting myself to sleep, so lately, I’ve introduced some dynamics into my voice that I hope will make it more fun.”

For tickets and info about Wednesday’s show, call 963-0761 or visit lobero.com.