Whenever Dane Cook makes his way back to Boston, it’s obviously a special occasion. But now, with a chunk of material he’s been saving until he was able to come back home, to say he’s been chomping at the bit to make his return for this special engagement is an understatement.
After a few false starts and rescheduling, Cook is set to make his long awaited return to Boston with one night at The Boch Center Wang Theatre on Saturday (April 23). While being a comedian has been Cook’s dream since childhood, his the competitive sports mentality — whether it be the influence of his father or growing up as a sports fan in New England — has truly been the driving force throughout the Arlington native’s career.
But even as someone who has watched his favorite teams raise championship banners to the rafters over the years, and can equate that type of parade-like celebration to bringing a new hour back home, Cook can also level with the sense of defeat and the subsequent hunger that comes from getting knocked down and getting the chance to come back home with your tail between your legs and rely on the support and encouragement of those around him.
And though he’s no longer shooting his latest special at The Wang like he had previously planned, it’s that very support and encouragement that has Cook consistently excited whenever he gets the chance to come back home and perform in front of a hometown crowd. He just had to bring this hour back to Boston.
“It’s like time traveling any time I land back in Boston, because it all comes back to me. Every turn of the corner, whether it’s a place that’s still there or unfortunately long gone, I will find myself pointing out the window and saying ‘I used to write jokes right there,’ or ‘I used to meet with my improv in that school playground’,” Cook tells Vanyaland when we chatted with him over the phone last October, around the time of the originally rescheduled show. “If the walls could talk, Boston is critical to share highlights of my career with, because it’s the city that embraced me and helped to put me on the map.”
Now, given the legacy he’s already laid out for himself, Cook knows he could just do something comfortable and familiar to get by. But at the end of the day, what’s the fun in that? What Cook is looking to do with this new chapter is not only exceed the expectations of his fans, but also his own.
“I don’t want to just do something I know I’m able to do. I’d like to try and do something, when I’m coming home to Boston more than any other time, that makes people look at the whole journey, and think ‘man, from the first time I saw him at Kowloon or the fuckin’ Billerica 99 Restaurant to today, he’s going to come in and do something that makes the room feel like when we all leave, we’ll never experience again’,” says Cook. “That’s the relevancy you need for yourself to continue to want to do this and tell people to come check it out, because I know there is more that I need to meet inside of myself, and when I do that, and I get tangled in the funny, it makes for a great night.”
Adapting, or rather evolving, has become one of Cook’s most prominent attributes over the years, and that was not by accident. Ever since he started watching George Carlin as a kid, he knew he wanted to be that type of comedian and performer that not only allowed himself to change, much like Carlin did with the evolution from his days as the Hippy Dippy Weatherman, but to also wade in the dark waters of failure and tragedy if he had to, and turn it into comedy. That’s been the goal from the jump for Cook, and now with this new hour, he’s seeing the fruition of that ideal more than ever before.
“That really encapsulates some of the new stuff where it’s always been ‘observe and report,’ but now more than ever, it’s more personal because I’m diving into experiences that are hardships, capsizing and traumatic moments, but I’m doing it in very funny ways,” says Cook. “I’ve got this 30-year moment in my career where I can do things better than I did them before because I have new tools, and I’ve learned new words, and I’ve traveled, so I can talk from experience having ventured, but it’s also the part of the journal that tells you this is where I am now.”
Cook knows he could do things a little differently than what he’s planning, and he knows there’s another version of his show he can present. But even after three decades on the grind, he’s not resting on his laurels, and he still has his sights set on having all of the pistons firing, because whatever chapter of his life and career he finds himself in, it’s always his desire to bring the high-energy showmanship he’s been known for so that you can leave the room feeling like it was absolutely worth it.
Whether it be a result of happenstance, great mentorship, or even just being a student of comedy, Cook feels fortunate for the career and support he’s had thus far. The ability to grow with his audience has been a delight, and being able to delve into what he calls “highlight-reel moments” but also be revealing and talk about the experiences that aren’t exactly bright and happy has been an incredible addition to Cook’s journey. And he can say with confidence that, with that addition his approach, and the creative and personal evolution that came along with it, that he won’t feel like he’s phoned it in.
Instead, he can feel that at every beat in his career, he’s at least tried to present something of value, and he’s hoping to keep that beat going.
“I am very proud to bring something else like this forward, and to put my time and energy into something that I am so damn excited to share beyond the stages in Boston, where I can give people a night of laughs wherever they are,” says Cook. “I’ve been through hell and high water both personally and professionally, suffering from foot-in-mouth disease and making my own mistakes, and at the same time always wanting to dawn that Red Sox hat because, and I’m sorry to sound like a fucking schmuck, but all I’ve ever wanted to do was to make the city of Boston proud of me.”
DANE COOK :: Saturday, April 23 at Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 8 p.m. :: Tickets are $39.50 to $69.50