Milwaukee Comedian Johnny Beehner talks getting through COVID,

picks his five favorite comics

 

By Peter Lindblad

 

The thrill of performing in front of a live audience is gone – at least for now – for comedian Johnny Beehner.

****UPDATE Johnny Beehner is NOW SCHEDULED to appear at Appleton’s Skyline Comedy Club  June 18-19, 2021

Residing in Milwaukee with his wife, after growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, and then attending Marquette University, Beehner is in a holding pattern, waiting for the world to return to normal. In that way, he’s just like the rest of us.

However, like pretty much all stand-up comics, he is jonesing to get back onstage, tell jokes and bask in the roaring laughter his silliness and likeable charm usually generates.

Life during the pandemic has taken some getting used to for Beehner.

“On the one hand, it has been great because I have gotten to be with my kids and my wife basically 24-7 as my wife is now working from home,” said Beehner. “On the other hand, it has been brutally tough because I lost so much work and have not been able to get onstage. I have been forced to get creative with ways to make money, but just not being able to perform for live audiences literally has affected my psyche. It’s depressing. For a comedian, performing is a drug, and we are in serious withdrawal. If these zoom shows are the methadone, they aren’t strong enough. I have been doing a lot of zoom shows, a lot of corporate zoom shows, and some are fun, but not enough are fun.”

 

Beehner is hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel. He’s chomping at the bit to get back to it. Look for a bigger story in the March issue of Out & About Wisconsin.

At the same time, Beehner is a big fan of other comedians, and would surely like to see them doing what they do best again.

In no particular order, here are his five favorites:

 

Brian Regan – Makes it just look so easy. So silly, so funny. Fantastic use of face and physicality.

 

Greg Hahn – Might just be the silliest comic I have ever seen or worked with. He should be huge. Super energetic. Super silly. I have worked with him many times and I always watch every show all the way through and it always makes me laugh. He is the comic I love introducing others to.

 

Tig Notaro – She is just one of those people that it seems like she could read the dictionary and it would be funny. She is just simply funny. She’s a funny person. She is likable, has impeccable timing, and has balls. If she thinks something’s funny, she sells it. Did you see her Conan set where she pushes a stool? So stupid, but I laughed so hard.

 

Bill Burr – Great writer. He says so many things that I have thought but didn’t realize I had the thought and then got all mad because I wished I had come up with it for a bit. He takes a topic and digs deep. And he is a natural. He makes it look like he’s just thinking of it and talking it out right in front of you.

 

Jim Gaffigan – Jim is great. He talks about simple things and dissects them and comes at them from every angle and everything he says, I find myself going, “Yes! Totally.” He is very clever, so prolific (to the point its annoying). He is one of those comics that makes me feel like, who am I kidding? I’m a fraud.

 

 

 

Dave Chapelle – Sorry, I gotta add a sixth. Dave’s the GOAT. All his specials are an event. I dim the lights, put out the candles, etc.  He is Just. So. Funny.