Chicago’s Anthony Bonazzo Comes to Milwaukee

×

Expand

Photo: Anthony Bonazzo - anthonybonazzo.com

Anthony Bonazzo

Anthony Bonazzo

If Anthony Bonazzo makes you laugh, you can take it as a tribute to his dad.

“My father passed away suddenly in 2015,” the Chicago-based comedian shares. “He always encouraged me to do it and worked to build a life for me so that I could pursue something like stand- up,” Bonazzo says of the motivation he received from his late parent. “I think it was then that I really decided there was no more farting around. I either needed to make a go at this or not.”

Bonazzo has thus far made enough of a go of his comedic ambition to be a mainstay at venues in and around the Windy City and a touring comic as well. His travels will bring him to The Laughing Tap for 7:30 p.m. shows on Friday Aug. 18 and Saturday Aug. 19.

And though plying his schtick is what Bonazzo calls “a great way to grieve while also trying achieve,” when it comes to dealing with his parental loss, his comedy is rooted in his upbringing as well. “I am one of eight kids from a large Italian family. One of us was bound to end up a comedian,” he surmises. “My dad was always very funny. And my mom. They sort of did it in secret though. Like at home, they played pranks on us, prank phone called us, or made up outlandish stories. We were always on our toes. It was pretty funny looking back. And I would do impressions of family members at the dinner table and tell stories even as a young kid. My family encouraged it. So, it absolutely influenced me,” he recollects of his family's hand in his career direction.

Diversity in Comedy

The diversity of Bonazzo’s social circle outside his home has likewise played a part in his ability to relate to audiences comprised of comedy lovers in a variety of skin colors.

“Some of my closest friends growing up were Black,” he recalls of his New Jersey childhood, “and I spent a lot of times at their homes, had sleepovers, and it wasn't something as a kid you were too aware of. You just knew who your friends were.” Upon moving to his current hometown, his ingratiation into African American culture made Bonazzo a possibly unlikely fixture at one particular venue. “I went to Jokes and Notes, which was Chicago’s premiere and only Black comedy club. It went really well from the get-go, and I was a paid regular for almost five years there until it closed.”

Bonazzo’s relationships with African African friends and acquaintances provide much of the grist for second half of his 2022 debut comedy special, the Chicago-centric Northside Southside. One need not be familiar with Illinois' northeast corner to derive plenty of chuckles from Bonazzo’s work. However, the comedian himself drew amusement from the audience to whom he was playing due to the downtown Chicago setting of the club where the show took place.

“I knew it was experimental and would be a risk,” Bonazzo admits. “The ironic part is all of the material from the second half of my special was worked out in black rooms. So, to see white audience members tighten up is hilarious. It just goes to show how as much as they want to support black people, they don't know much about them, because if they did, they would be laughing at the accuracy of the jokes.”

   Though his love for Chicago is readily evident from his first special, Bonazzo is a versatile entertainer willing to educate himself about the crowds for whom he plays, “I don’t do a ton of Chicago jokes unless I am in Chicago. If I am in Milwaukee, I’ll add in Milwaukee jokes, and If I am in Michigan, I’ll add in a Michigan joke. It’s fun to learn about a city and its quirks. And I’ve found people love it when you talk about and know their city.

“I really make it a point to connect with the audience,” he continues. “I don’t want them to sit there with their arms crossed while I recite set list of jokes. " want people to be engaged, to let loose, and to follow me into my warped world and point of view and get lost with me. So, I'll spend time doing crowd work, and trying to find common ground to really try and have a fun night that isn't something myself or they were expecting.”

And as for what people in Chicago’s comedy scene might be able to learn from Milwaukee’s comedy culture? “I think Chicago could benefit from not taking itself so seriously sometimes. This is comedy; we should be always trying to have fun. And I always have fun in Milwaukee."

Here's Bonazzo on a man of his shorter physical stature seeking dates in a city of women obsessed with guys’ height, with references to Lord of the Rings and being a “marshmallow” seeking some “hot chocolate” ...