Alonzo Bodden Laughs at the State of Planet Earth

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Photo Credit: Alonzo Bodden

“Years ago, I decided the world is funnier than me," says comedian Alonzo Bodden, “so I do more topical material than personal.” 

Bodden brings his humor based on the state of the planet, as well as the occasional bit about his own life, to Potawatomi Hotel & Casino’s Northern Lights Theater for 7 and 9 p.m. shows on Saturday, Feb. 22. If the comic’s imposing physique and face topped by a clean-shaven pate aren’t as familiar as his deep, bassy voice, it’s because you know Bodden best from his recurring spot on public radio. 

“I love doing ‘Wait Wait,’” Bodden enthuses over “Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!,” NPR’s news-based game show for which he is a frequent celebrity contestant. “I had an agent who recommended me. They saw me do stand-up in Chicago and invited me on, and I’ve been a panelist since. Obviously, I bring a black point of view to some topics, which most panelists don’t since they’re white. I’d always rather be funny than right. One of my favorite moments was translating from George Clinton to [‘Wait Wait’ host] Peter Sagal. Parliament Funkadelic met Harvard humor.” 

Though Bodden declares, “I’ve always been able to make people laugh,” it was in translating the nomenclature of aeronautics that Bodden felt emboldened to finally try his hand at being funny for a living. “I got a job training aerospace workers, and when I got in front of class, I had more fun making them laugh, so I decided to try stand-up. I got started with a six-week writing class and a five-minute graduation show. I was hooked,” he explains. 

Bodden hooked television studio audiences and home viewers in the mid-2000s when he came in second place on the second season and won first prize his next time out on NBC’s competition show for comedians, “Last Comic Standing.” When asked how far along his career would be without the boost it was given by the series, he replies by noting other factors that could have taken him even further. “The better question is how far along would I be had there been more social media at the time or if I were better at marketing.” Still, it sounds like he has no regrets in participating on the show when he comments, “The show was my introduction to America. It was a great experience, and I made some great comic friends."  

However, Bodden may not make friends among some aficionados of one of Milwaukee's most famous brands when he speaks of his preferences in motorcycles, of which he is a collector. “Well, Milwaukee will hate me, but I’m not a Harley guy. I had a Fat Boy briefly, but it wasn’t my thing. Nice bikes are just not for me,” he confesses. He has appreciation for other things emanating from the city, though. “You guys have a pretty good Greek basketball player,” Bodden remarks of the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. The athlete, who towers seven inches over Bodden's 6' 4" frame, may or may not figure into the latter’s shtick this Saturday, but Bodden is known to incorporate material about the cities he plays. “I’ll see when I get there,” he says of what local flavor may pepper his sets at Northern Lights. Whatever observations he has to make about the city, those in attendance would probably do well to expect his Milwaukee references early on in his show, as Bodden likes to start out with his newest jokes. “There’s always new material because I like to be topical. I do the new stuff first because I’m excited to see if it works.”

The consistently updated freshness of Bodden’s act separates experiencing him live from the way many comedy lovers satisfy their laughter cravings nowadays. As he says, “They’ve already seen everything on Netflix. Try something new. I’ll do the funny stuff. Come on out.” 

Here, Bodden emphasizes the importance of utilizing context to judge the language people use in a bit wherein he purposefully implements “trigger words” to raucous—if arguably politically incorrect—effect: