If you want to see Chicago comedian Pat McGann perform locally, you only have a few chances this summer.
A frequent opening act for fellow Chicago comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, McGann will headline an 8-7 and 9:30 p.m. show on June 10 at the Uptown Social in Michigan City, Indiana, and at 8 p.m. June 11 at the Raue Center for the Arts. at Crystal Lake.
McGann’s resume is impressive enough to have started relatively late in stand-up comedy. He started at Zanies Chicago, eventually becoming the house emcee. He began touring with Maniscalco in 2017, which paid off when he performed four sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden.
“I started acting at 31,” he said. “And I have a history with the Raue because when I was starting stand-up, I…created, with (Raue Center CEO) Richard Kuranda, Lucy’s Comedy Café. It was me and Richard – we started this.
“And I booked it for probably the first four or five years. And I did a New Year’s show there in 2010 or 2011. I did a comedy class there for kids, like a comedy summer camp. I have a good relationship with the Raues and I’m excited to do the main scene. It’s a beautiful theatre.
He has participated in “The Late Show with David Letterman”, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”, the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival, Gilda’s LaughFest, the Great American Comedy Festival and the Nashville Comedy Fest. He also has a podcast called “All Over the Place” with comedian Jim Flannigan.
Growing up in South Chicago, everyone around him was funny, he said, from his friends to his family.
“Everyone was always trying to make each other laugh,” he said. “I liked to write. I filled notebooks but I was never on stage. I played sports, I was never in the theater or really comfortable speaking in front of people. I had to overcome that fear.”
He met Maniscalco while working at Zanies.
“Sebastian was working in clubs at that time and building his following,” he said. “We got on well. There was mutual respect and it’s been a really good relationship ever since. He’s been so good to me. I learned a lot by being in its orbit.
McGann is happy his dance card is filling up after being sidelined for nearly two years, though he’s still managed to find comedy in quarantine.
“I found there were so many shared experiences that it was easy to connect with people online. You just had to find new ways,” he said. cool for me to see this all unfold. It was cool to see how the comedy found its way and found the cracks. It really showed up in this virtual world and people seemed to appreciate it more now coming back to these live events, there’s a different energy.
Although he spent a lot of time writing new material and finding the funny in the “new normal,” audiences will still hear a lot about his life. He is 46 years old, married and father of children aged 10, 8 and 7.
“My kids are playing sports now – I think I’m missing nine games right now just to talk to you guys,” he said. “I’m talking about how we rented a house. We went to a lake house, a Vrbo, which is like pretending you’re a different family for a week. You just move into someone else’s house and pretend you’re better.
He is able to take the family on the road with him this summer. They’ll be there when he goes to the east coast this summer.
“The trips are long, but I can take them with me and they can see other parts of the country,” he said.
Audiences will want to catch him locally while they can – he’s not here as often as he used to be.
“I used to do shows in Chicago all the time,” he said. “The fact that I only do shows here a few times a year now, it’s much nicer because I can do local material.
“It’s like you’re doing inside jokes with an audience, which is kind of nice when you’re making jokes about Chicago and people reacting to that. It’s great to feel the local vibe and it’s always nice to be home.
Pat McGann
When: 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. June 10
Where: Uptown Social, 907 Franklin St., Michigan City, Indiana
Tickets: $30 to $300
Information: 219-809-9119; uptownsocialmc.com
When: 8 p.m. on June 11
Where: Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake, Illinois
Tickets: $25-$35
Information: 815-356-9212; rauecenter.org
Annie Alleman is a freelance journalist for the News-Sun.
