Neal Brennan is 48 years old. He’s not married, doesn’t have kids, doesn’t drink, doesn’t really smoke weed, he’s “racially bilingual,” and he’s not sure if he should be categorized first as a writer, director or a comedian. In reality, roughly a dozen of the characteristics that makes him the artist and person so many have come to know and admire also turn out to be what makes him feel so isolated.
True to form, though, with his new show, he’s able to find the humor in the indecisive nature of his personality to come to a truce with himself.
Following a highly successful sold-out run at New York City’s Cherry Lane Theatre, the longtime comedian and writer has set off on a national tour with his latest thematic show Unacceptable, which makes its way to Boston’s Wilbur Theatre on Sunday (July 31). With the new material, Brennan once again balances introspective thoughts with humorous execution, much like he did in his 2017 Netflix special 3 Mics, but given the setting and Boston’s reputation as one of the most well-regarded comedy cities in the country, he’s much more looking forward to bringing the comedic element back for his first time performing at the famed Tremont Street venue.
“I’m looking forward to doing The Wilbur, and I like being in a place like Boston because it’s a great market in that the city has a bad attitude, which is great for comedy,” Brennan tells Vanyaland. “Everyone in Boston also thinks they’re funny, which also makes it a good comedy market. People in places like Baltimore, Philly and Chicago think they’re funny, people in New York think they’re funny. People in L.A. don’t think they’re funny. They think they’re gorgeous. I don’t know if it’s the Irish in those cities, but they just think they’re all funny.”
While the Boston date will house the potency of Brennan’s latest brainchild, it won’t have all the same components that made it such a hit in NYC, as the Cherry Lane made it possible to have stage props and the like to make more of a presentation. But the important part — the funny part — will be quite present as it is the foundation of about 95 percent of the show, so we’re still in for a great night.
Another change-up that makes this a special engagement amongst the smattering of dates around the country is the fact that Brennan won’t be veering too far into the more serious aspects of the show’s original form, but that’s not to say it’ll lose anything as a full-on experience or a fully operational comedy show. In fact, for the man himself, both versions are just as redeemable, as they have their own unique qualities that bring the house down every night.
Now, if anyone tuned in to the sheer artistry presented in 3 Mics, it may be a question of “how will he top this?” But when it comes to his own perspective it’s just another run through the funnel he envisions as a representative of his creative process. Whether it be an idea for a sketch, stand-up bit, movie or a commercial, the right hand man of Chappelle’s Show just hopes that whatever comes out of the funnel at any given time is as potent as the last thing, but if it doesn’t, it doesn’t, and he’s okay with that. There’s no sort of battle within himself to top his last effort, citing how he has the opposite approach Thom Yorke does in the 1998 Radiohead documentary Meeting People Is Easy following the success of OK Computer.
For Brennan, this show is just the next thing, and it just so happens to be another highly introspective piece that turns the idea of being a social critic of what’s in front of him on its head as he points a finger at himself this time around.
“This show is basically me reckoning with my opinion of myself,” says Brennan. “The hard part about being human is that we see all of it. If you’re even fairly integrated and not a sociopath, you see all your bad stuff and some of your bad stuff, and there’s no makeup you can put on yourself to make you forget about what you’re like. So it’s really just me reckoning with all the ways that I am, my interests, my habits, my feelings, and the isolation my personality makes me feel.”
With something so personally magnifying, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think the show has wound up being cathartic or therapeutic for Brennan, but for him, the cathartic element shows up in a unique sense. The fact is, much like with the subject matter of his father in 3 Mics, the sheer volume of performances has helped to exhaust any and all thoughts regarding the topic. In this case, it’s his own self-doubt and deprecation.
And as he’s come to also find, there’s an ironic twist when it comes to a show about feeling isolated and alone, as it has resonated with audiences for their own personal reasons, thus creating a fellowship angle to the material.
There’s a lot at play with Brennan making his way to the city, and although there is absolutely no resolution in this particular version of the show, Brennan is still excited to bring it to Boston, and take on the room that so many of his friends like Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, Bill Burr, John Mulaney, and a number of others have also tamed.
“I don’t really get that nervous based on venue, and I don’t think too much along the lines of, like, ‘do you know what it means to be here?,” says Brennan. “I literally just think, ‘let’s get in there and do the show we’ve been doing,’ and while I’m glad it happens to be there and the size of the rooms seem to be growing, it doesn’t really add any extra sort of pressure or emotion because I don’t the full history of the place. Mulaney and Rock are the two people that come to mind first, and I know Burr used to play there a lot, as does Jim Jefferies and a bunch other comedians I like, so I’m enjoying being able to do a bunch of venues that people that I like also do.”
NEAL BRENNAN: UNACCEPTABLE :: Sunday, July 31 at The Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., $40 :: Wilbur event page