The Stars Came OUT In Akron
by James Lehman
For those of you lucky enough to have attended Akron's
one-night-only Gay Comedy Jam, you already know that it
was truly a fun night to remember.
I'm a tough audience for stand-up comedy -- really tough.
I'm usually looking for a reason not to like it, and I love good
stand-up. That is sort-of the attitude that I had when I went to
Hilarities to see the show that we had advertised in the
previous 2 issues. I was honestly surprised. The show I saw
was the best. I had a great time.
Kevin Maye and Scott Kennedy both did about an hour
or so each. It didn't matter who was first on stage, 'cause, as
it turns out, they are a couple! Apparently they arranged this
tour so they could work together. Isn't that sweet?
Anyway, some local straight girl warmed 'em up and the
first one OUT was Kevin. To be honest, I think he looks a lot
cooler than his promo photo. He's wearing glasses now. He
looks fabulous! I remember him from the HBO special, and he
struck me as a much funnier guy this time around. He started
us off laughing, and never let up. Even if he was talking
about something that was specific to his life, he still found
things to say that brought us all together to laugh about. He
was great! Near the end of his performance, he told the
audience that he was HIV positive and has AIDS. I can't
imagine the courage that takes. He made a few jokes about it
and was, overall, very encouraging about the positive effects
that new medical treatments have had on his health.
If Kevin was one side of the gay coin, Scott was the
other. He came OUT in jeans and a pullover shirt. The two of
them really complemented each other very well. He even
made a comment that they were the "Odd Couple" of gay
comedy. Scott seemed a bit more impromptu. He was a little
more interactive with the audience. He gave Kevin a little
ribbing about their five year relationship. He also made a
point to do some bits that would tickle the lesbian funny
bones. He was a hoot too!
These guys are really polished professionals! They were
so comfortable on stage. Both of them were guys that you
would like to know as friends, even though they were
standing up in front of a room full of strangers. What I liked
about them the most was that they were not insulting at all;
well.... OK, they made fun of a few key political family
members and Mississippians, but you'll have that. Most of
their humor came from gay stereotypes and just plain life
itself. As a matter of fact, I was waiting into each of the
performer's acts, to hear the first truly gay reference. Oh, it
was there alright! And I dug the anticipation. Both comedians
were able to lead us down long roads of common
experience, with lots of laughable observations along the
way, culminating in punch lines that had real thought and
meaningful insight and brought the audience to roaring
responses.
After the show, both comedians came OUT to the bar and
greeted everyone with conversation and a few autographs. I
was very pleased to see how real and down to Earth they
both are. After all, they are national gay celebrities! I got a
chance to speak with them and Kevin rumored that they
would be back in this area sometime in November. One thing
that really made me feel good about the event was that, even
though Hilarities is, more or less, a straight club, the near
sell-out crowd that night was more than 80% gay. I'm sure
that made both of these guys feel a lot more at home. JL :o)
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