Comics bring the laughs
Cedric a no-show, but others step up
The Black and Brown Comedy Get Down tour boasts an impressive lineup: Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, George Lopez, D.L. Hughley, Eddie Griffin and Charlie Murphy.
Except the top-billed Cedric was a no-show at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Friday.
Epps joked that Cedric was in jail, but Cedric himself posted on Instagram and Twitter that he had a prior film obligation, breaking the news just eight hours before the Milwaukee show was scheduled to start.
It’s incredibly disingenuous that this “film obligation” announcement was withheld until the day of the show, clearly to ensure that ticket sales didn’t suffer. (About 8,000 were at the arena Friday — not a packed house, but big enough to justify the venue.)
But the other five comics compensated for Cedric’s absence with a combined 21⁄ hours of stand-up.
Based on the screamed laughs during Epps’ closing half-hour, any disappointment or resentment appeared forgotten. “Empire” co-creator and “Precious” director Lee Daniels cast Epps in his upcoming Richard Pryor biopic, and while Epps’ set came nowhere close to matching Pryor’s craftsmanship, it was clear he’ll be good for the part.
Running around the stage in the center of the arena, hollering “Miltown!” over and over with a giddy grin, Epps’ charisma was undeniable before he dropped a single joke. More than any of the other comics Friday, he played with the audience, ripping a fan for hollering at him from the “$5 seats,” imitating another with a small butt attempting to sit on a toilet and dubbing an older security guard “Captain Kangaroo.” He also made fun of himself — namely, how he’s starting to attract Patti LaBelle look-alikes while younger women he tries to flirt with call him “Uncle Mike.”
The only other comic who came close to matching Epps’ reception was Griffin, a surprise considering he’s nowhere near as popular, and his set was far, far edgier. To many, some of his positions, even though they were clearly exaggerated for a boisterous comedy set, would be offensive: He suggested Bill Cosby’s accusers were lying; praised the Baltimore riots; and joked that his first order of business if he were president would be to create white slavery. There were no boos or protests, but instead, cathartic laughs and applause — probably because Griffin dared to address tense topics and events, and did so without flinching.