By Peter Lindblad
Please try to remain Calm … as in Reena Calm. This is not a drill.
Able to twist and bend words to her hilarious will, the delightful Calm is headlining a Fox Valley Comedy threesome on Aug. 19 in the “Vault Speakeasy” at Venue 404 in Oshkosh, with support from David Louis and Waupaca’s own Jeremy Reedy. Raegan Niemela was also added.
Her puns are cute and funny, and Calm, who was born in Israel, has a way of innocently stepping ever over the line without offending and then quickly pulling her foot back as if nothing ever happened. It’s her superpower. She knows what she’s doing.
Her uproarious debut comedy album Calmedy is out on Helium Comedy Records and her book “Once Upon a Pun: Legend of a Sighs Queen” is available through Amazon. Calm’s life is, to go full pun here, is open book onstage, and she’s able to bond intimately with audiences, as she shares her misadventures. Expect to fall in love. Check out Calm here: https://www.facebook.com/reena.calm
August is chock full of great stand-up shows making their way to the Badger state. Here are the rest of the best:
Comedy on State – Madison
Dan Mintz (Aug. 11-13) –
Fans of “Bob’s Burgers,” this one’s for you. The monotone voice of the show’s awkward tween Tina, Mintz’s gawky stage presence and fumbling delivery give the impression that maybe, just maybe, the real Mintz is not so different from the character he plays. His absurdist sensibility and self-deprecating style have served him well. The Anchorage, Alaska, native has worked behind the scenes as a writer for Comedy Central’s “Crank Yankers” and “Nathan for You,” along with HBO’s “Lucky Louie” and the Emmy Award winning “Veep,” so you know he’s got the goods. Get a taste here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCaFg6iy3wE
Milwaukee Improv – Milwaukee
Capone (Aug. 26-27) –
The “Gangster of Comedy,” Capone – aka Derrick Lee – is a self-admitted hustler from the Bronx who turned his life around after spending some time in jail and went on to work with the mentally challenged. Mining material from his personal life, as he riffs wildly on fatherhood, relationships, racism, and the world at large, the fierce and fly Capone has shared stages with Tracey Morgan and Michael Epps. Capone is living proof you can be fashionable, funny, and inspirational. Still, he’s not for everyone. The easily offended might want to steer clear. Capone takes you to church here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRTD0BKrllw
The Crystal Grand Theatre – Wisconsin Dells
Chastity Washington (Aug. 25) –
In 2019, famed comic Roy Wood Jr., from Comedy Centrals’ “Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” said on Twitter, “Chastity Washington is going to be a problem. Haven’t seen anything like this in 20 yrs (sic) of comedy. The ferocity, the franticness, it was nonstop.” Roy wasn’t lying. She’s a teacher who’s not afraid to tell it like it is, and she’s one of our favorites – naturally funny, charming, and honest to a fault. Pray with her here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdshpJRD_iA
The Laughing Tap – Milwaukee
Bobcat Goldthwait (Aug. 14) –
An absolute icon and a complete original, quick on his feet with that jittery, nervous, screaming delivery that made him famous, Goldthwait arrived on the scene with his 1983 appearance on the “David Letterman Show.” Since then, he’s opened for Nirvana, starred in multiple specials on HBO and Showtime, and acted in classic movies like “Scrooged” and “Police Academy,” while also going behind the camera to direct “The Chappelle Show,” “Community” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” He’s a true Renaissance man, but Goldthwait really comes alive onstage, delivering nonstop, gut-busting laughs with his steam-of-consciousness insanity. He’s probably not going to do the voice, though. It doesn’t matter. He’s amazing, and there’s nobody like him. Here’s a more recent clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX2NzMnIsOg