The comedy vet has had one hell of a year, and you’ll be able to hear all about it in Springfield this week
Over the course of his 13 years in comedy, Corey Rodrigues has consistently been touted as one of the most well-rounded stand-ups to come out of the Boston scene. And when he makes his way to Western Mass this week, he’ll show you exactly why.
Bringing his latest material to MGM Springfield’s Roar Comedy Club for a two-night stint starting on Thursday (October 24), the Milton native isn’t looking to bore you or get too complex. He’s just looking to give everyone a good time, and maybe even start some uncomfortable conversations in the process.
“I’m going to be keeping it as simple as possible,” Rodrigues tells Vanyaland. “It sounds so cliche to tell everyone that they should expect some high-energy, up-tempo, razzmatazz show, but they should just be expecting a great night out that will include revelations about my life, and maybe even revelations about their own lives or the person they’re sitting with.”
Hitting on those certain nerves is what gives Rodrigues his comedy lifeblood. Not in the sense of making people squirm, but rather to bring people together by pointing out the similarities between those who see themselves as different from each other in terms of race and gender, and to prove that, at the end of the day, we all share certain life experiences, in some way, shape or form.
“I know that people love to pick out things that show how different we all are, but I think it’s fun to show how similar we are,” says Rodrigues. “When some 75 year old comes up to me after a show and tells me ‘I swear you live in my house,’ while I have college kids telling me I must be living in their dorm room is funny, but more importantly it shows how we all share so many traits.”
While he’s been building a new hour to hopefully turn into a special next year, Rodrigues has put himself out there more than he ever has in 2019. Since making his late-night debut on Conan in January, his material has received praise from a continuously growing audience, whether it be due to his uncanny impression of Denzel Washington, his new Improv-style show, Hot and Bothered, with Kelly MacFarland or his Dry Bar special that he shot in 2017 but has found new life this year. However, the project that sticks out to him above all the others is the Best of Boston compilation album, which dropped back in September.
Joining other heavy hitters like Steve Sweeney, Jimmy Dunn, Christine Hurley, and Kenny Rodgerson, Rodrigues is forever grateful that he was given the opportunity to be a part of such great lineup — but it almost didn’t happen for him.
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When it came time to record the album, Rodrigues was met with the decision of either driving back to Boston straight from a gig in New York, or to pass on the recording and hit up the Jersey Shore to meet up with family for vacation. Somehow, he managed to do all of it, and while it was a wild day in the life of Rodrigues, he’s glad he was able make it happen, since the album has received such positive feedback since its release.
“There’s a whole team of people pushing this album, from Kelly MacFarland and Tony V, to Will Noonan, Don Gavin, and Dan Crohn, and then you have everyone behind them pushing it too,” says Rodrigues.”So, it’s just great to remember that I would’ve missed out on getting this opportunity to work with such great people, and all of the streams that the album has gotten, had I decided to just chill out and have ‘me time,’ which I was still able to have four days of after recording the album. I had to sacrifice some family time, but it was worth it for me.”
Whether it be a comedy club, theatre, a bar, or a cruise ship, the setting doesn’t matter. Rodrigues rarely says no to any type of gig, and he’s found that doing so has opened up so many new doors and presented new opportunities for him, and this year alone has proven that to be true for him. The way he sees it, until he’s not able to do it within reason, he has no plans to slow down his intake.
“I say ‘yes’ to as much stuff as I can within reason, career-wise,” Rodrigues says. “What I’ve found with that is that it’s opened up so many other doors for me. So many people go back and forth with the idea of knowing your worth, but the way I see it, you have to learn your worth before knowing it. I say yes to a lot of things, because I’m not too good for it. I don’t care what I have going on, I’m not too good for something. There will come a time where I’m too busy for it, but until that time comes and dictates that, then I’ll keep saying yes and opening those new doors.”
COREY RODRIGUES :: October 24 and 25 at ROAR! Comedy Club at MGM Springfield, 1 MGM Way, Springfield, MA :: 7:15 p.m. both nights, $22 :: Advance tickets