Red Bar Comedy Club Welcomes Todd Glass

By Staff in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 27, 2011 4:40PM

BY: KRISTY MANGEL

This Friday and Saturday, the Red Bar Comedy Club will present its first national headliner weekend showcase, by welcoming the iconic stand-up comedian Todd Glass for four shows only.

Glass has been in the comedy biz for the last 25 years, ever since first taking the stage at the age of 16 at his local Philadelphia open mic. He remains a hugely accessible fixture in the nation’s stand-up comedy circuit, playing sold out theatres and tiny clubs alike. He was recently seen in Chicago opening up for Sarah Silverman at the Chicago Theatre, where he acted as off-stage announcer who brought himself up to the stage, a hilarious DIY trick for those that recognize the gravely, East Coast brogue.

His television appearances run the gamut, from self-created shows such as Todd’s Coma, beloved cult comedies such as Louie, Mr. Show with Bob and David, Tosh.0, and the Sarah Silverman Program, the talent search series Last Comic Standing, and comedy documentaries Heckler, the Aristocrats, and the most recent, I Am Comic. He continues to be a master of the live stage, however, and is insistent on retooling himself to remain relevant in his methodology and material alike. “I never want anyone to say, ‘Oh Todd Glass… yeah, he WAS funny.’ … You want to transcend generations. Kids sometimes come up to me that are 15 and 16 years old. And I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s right, I was watching comedy when I was 14.’ I used to love Rodney Dangerfield when I was 12 years old. When younger people come out and think you’re funny it makes you feel good.”

In addition, he’s continuously striving to produce new projects, such as the television pilot, Dinner with Todd, shot two months ago and currently being shopped to various networks. The show’s theme is a take-off on real life dinners Todd hosts at his house, nights of frivolity with friends and speckled with ridiculous moments, like when a ten-piece orchestra appears from seemingly nowhere to serenade his guests.

Glass, a known design nerd, understands the intertwining of physical environment and human perception. “When you see comedy where it belongs, it’s the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s everything. It’s not just a little better, it is what it should be. And that’s what [Red Bar] is doing. It’s pretty simple. They’re doing comedy in the right atmosphere where it belongs. It’s amazing how many places do stand-up comedy where it doesn’t belong.”

He went on to fierily explain: “It can be so simple. You don’t have to have a $3 million building. You just need four walls, and nothing going on in a room but comedy.” To emphasize his point further, he added his oft-spoken analogy: would you want to get a massage in this room? If the answer is no, because of light coming in, or noise, or distractions, then it’s not where comedy belongs. “But when I see a room like Red Bar, I think, ‘Okay, good, I’m going to do comedy where it belongs.’”

Red Bar Comedy Club proprietor Mike David recently announced plans to bring national headliners to the intimate theater space, where people can see local emerging Chicago-based comics every Friday and Saturday night in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.

“We want people that don't normally come out to see comedy to start getting into it. People don't realize how much fun it can be to see a talented comic perform. They're so used to seeing comics on TV, and it's just not the same as a live experience. We also really like the idea of keeping the show intimate. Seeing your favorite comic at a 3,500 seat theater just isn't the same as being right up close and personal in a smaller room,” he said.

The theater space has partnered with the TBS Presents: Just for Laughs Chicago Comedy Festival for the festival’s Best of the Fest showcase, with national headliners dropping by for shortened sets this June.

Tickets for Todd Glass can be purchased at the Red Bar Comedy Club website. Shows at 8 p.m., and 10 p.m., April 29 and 30, Red Bar Comedy Club, housed inside Ontourage, 157 W Ontario St., $15, 21+, no drink minimum.