Mulaney turns hardships into humor with new stand-up tour
With his new tour titled “From Scratch,” John Mulaney is turning his public hardships into an hour and a half of constant entertainment and laughter.
When Mulaney announced the full U.S. tour in February, my friend and I quickly purchased tickets for July 16, the date that was supposed to be his final show of the tour. As stadiums keep getting sold out, the comedian has added dozens of more cities and shows across the country to his course.
Explained throughout his set, Mulaney dives into the struggles of his past two years. He focuses on his divorce and his drug addiction, tells stories of rehab as well as the joy he’s found of having a son. One of his best jokes of the night though was about his star-studded drug intervention including Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen, and many more, including Nick Kroll, who was no help to the evening.
One of our favorite parts of the show were the personal elements the comedian threw in. Being born and raised in Chicago, Mulaney made jokes about the United Center and said how much he loved this city. There were two audience members who were called on, one of whom was Will, a ten year old boy in the fifth row who Mulaney referenced throughout the night, apologizing for the content of his jokes and giving advice on how not to be like him. Secondly, the former SNL writer asked the audience how many of them have been to rehab and called on a woman sitting many rows back to share her story. While Mulaney was cracking jokes about himself, it was also a heartfelt moment for the two of them to connect on a deeper level. He took the time to listen and made her feel appreciated.
“It was so great.” said Teresa Waterkotte, a rising senior at ETHS, and my friend who came to the show with me. “You can tell how much he trusts his audience to be able to talk so openly about his struggles.”
On the ride home, Teresa and I shared a McDonald’s Happy Meal and our favorite moments from the evening. We were so pleased with how the night went and how Mulaney is doing.
The comedian will continue to make stadiums full of people laugh globally with his “From Scratch” tour until February of 2023 at earliest, but will continue that laughter for the rest of his career. Myself, along with the rest of the world is eager to see what
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