For all intents and purposes, Ross Mathews has won the lottery in life. Between stand-up and his work in television for over twenty years, he’s really come to embrace a number of life-changing experiences, and with his latest run of live dates, he’s hoping to pay that experience forward.
Making his way to The Wilbur tonight (June 9), Mathews isn’t taking any unnatural or newly crafted approach to the stage, but rather just doing what he’s done in front of the camera throughout his work on TV over the years on shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Chelsea Lately, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and currently his work as co-anchor and producer of The Drew Barrymore Show. The only difference, after years of writing his own jokes for TV like a stand-up does for the stage, is the energy he feels in front of a live comedy crowd.
With the mindset of a conductor, as he takes the crowd into uproarious highs and periodic emotional moments, Mathews returns to the Wilbur for the first time since supporting his first book, Man Up! Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence in 2013, with a burning passion for bringing laughs in bunches to a space that has stuck with him for years.
“It’s been quite awhile since I last played The Wilbur, and I’ve played a lot of theaters since, but I still remember the feeling of being in The Wilbur. To me, it felt like everyone there really loved just being a part of the act of being at a live show,” Mathews tells Vanyaland. “I remember that theater, specifically, feeling so welcoming and warm, and I don’t know if it was the people of Boston, or the energy in that room, but for whatever reason, it’s the one theater I’ve never forgotten the feeling of. If you’re lucky enough to perform there, you think about all the people who performed there before you and it becomes a little daunting, but then you tell yourself to step it up because some real greats have been on that stage.”
For the amount of people who make up his fanbase that know how he splits his time between on screen and live settings, Mathews still interacts with plenty that had no idea he did stand-up. But for those who may be wondering what the difference is between his two mediums, the Washington state native really doesn’t to change up much at all.
Sharing his everyday interactions and his view of the world through “Ross-colored lenses,” from his experiences dating, or as a gay man having a lot of straight girl besties, all he aims to do is filter the world through his point of view. It just so happens that his point of view has proven to be pretty unique.
“I understand that I’m kind of like a gay cartoon version of a human being, and I understand that my point of view is very different from other people,” says Mathews. “but that’s what I’ve done since Leno, and Chelsea Lately, and even on Drag Race. I just filter everything the way I see it, and that inherently, is kind of funny.”
As a gay man, Mathews is quick to acknowledge that his show isn’t inherently a “gay show” (much like a gay person putting on a car wash doesn’t make it a gay car wash), but the ability to perform his show in the midst of Pride month, and what it represents to be able to do it in the middle of the overall social climate, it still feels special in a different way for him.
“I’ve been standing proud for over two decades as a proud gay man on national television with a platform, but it doesn’t feel any different,” says Mathews. “I am going all over the country this year performing on this tour, and I’ll be plenty of places like Oklahoma and Tennessee, where they’re enacting pretty intense anti-gay legislation, so it’s not just because it’s pride month that it feels powerful to be able to do this.”
Regardless of the type of people who answer to his customary roll call during the show, Mathews has curated a show for everyone. Whether you’re gay, straight, non-binary, part of the LGBT community or a husband who was dragged to the show by your wife, Mathews’ sole commitment is to keep you smiling the whole time with his bubbly personality and uniquely positive and upbeat perspective on life.
“What I missed more than anything during this whole time was getting together with people and laughing. It’s really what motivates this whole show,” says Mathews. “Why should I go out? I have some good gigs, I’m working, and I could easily have some time off, but you know what I missed? I missed that instant response from a crowd and how sharp that tool can get and how strong that comedy muscle can get when an audience tells you in real time whether something is funny or not. THere’s nothing like it.”
As it stands, Mathews has no shortage of projects and commitments filling his calendar, including partnerships with brands like Egglife and the Days Inn hotel chain (where he is virtually built into into select locations in the form of a literal complimentary mirror), in addition to his work with Barrymore and RuPaul. He’s also trying to find time to hopefully start on his third book at some point, and bring his “Rossipes” to life in other forms.
But in terms of his comedy, his aspiration to host a game show is already making its way into the live space. While he just really enjoys the excitement that game shows bring, above all else, he’s looking forward to having the chance to facilitate a life-changing experience for his audience, whether it involves giveaways in the form of money or prizes, or simply just letting people forget about the insanity of the world for a bit and help them have fun and laugh.
In Boston, he knows he’ll find all of that and then some, and can’t wait to see it all come to life and give his fans a night to remember.
“If there’s one thing I know about Boston, it’s that the people are real. They won’t lie to you, and they are always down for a good time,” says Mathews. “Those elements are what it takes for an unforgettable night. I know Boston is going to show up and have a good time with me, and I just want to shut the door on the outside world for a little while and have fun like we used to.”
ROSS MATHEWS :: Friday, June 9 at The Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 6:30 p.m., $39.50 to $99 :: Advance Tickets