By: Robin Gibson
Colin Quinn and I both came of age on MTV. I grew up being groomed to want it while he announced guests on its gritty game show, Remote Control. Regardless of different vantage points, there's no denying the cable network united us in spirit. Which, is why one mention of his name transports me back to my youth and Lazy Boys hurling contestants into oblivion. I can't speak for him, but the show, quite honestly, is a metaphor for my twenties. While our paths diverged tremendously--let's be honest, he was getting paid to launch his career while I squirmed in the uncertainty of adulthood--we are connected by the throwback power of his raspy voice, which is still the same, and the moment in pop-culture time it represents. From wild teen to relatively calm adult (me) and former Spring Break VJ to bonafide headliner of the Charleston Comedy Festival 2018 (him), we've both come a long way, baby.
Fans of Quinn already know he feels most at home doing stand-up, which is not surprising considering he told me during our recent conversation that for most comedians, "not being on stage is like not breathing." And considering he caught his big break on a groundbreaking cable network in the 80s, folks shouldn't be surprised to learn that he has embraced new platforms like Netflix despite landing roles in box-office movies. He is the epitome of staying power and hardworking grit while following your gut in life, or, in his case, Hollywood.
With two Netflix stand-up specials available for viewing right now, he promises new material for his latest one-man show, ONE IN EVERY CROWD. What will be the same, however, are punchlines of human behavior and the nature of our country's political split--one that will alternate between making you laugh, think, and squirm like contestants on a basement set buying time in overstuffed recliners (early MTV reference for millennials).
Having seen a lot over the decades, I was curious as to what he thought had made the greatest impact on the business. "The biggest difference between then and now," he said, "is that comedy is looked at as more of a legitimate show business than as an outlier." He then went on to say, "all of these new platforms are great--comedians don't have to wait. They can just put out material and you're either good or you're not. People either laugh or they don't."
"What we have now," he says is a "level playing field." Don't miss his turn at bat when he will likely knock it out of the park Saturday, January 20th, at the College of Charleston's Sottile Theater.
Can't make it? Catch him when he heads back in February. He continues his tour at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina on Hilton Head Island on Monday, February 19, 2018.
Michael O'Brien Entertainment, LLC--Comedian Colin Quinn’s ONE IN EVERY CROWD standup tour, his first in over seven years, has been extended through Spring 2018. The tour marks Quinn’s return to traditional standup after the wildly successful runs of his Broadway and off-Broadway one-man shows Colin Quinn: The New York Story, Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional (both streaming on Netflix), and Long Story Short. Tickets for all tour dates are currently on sale and available at www.ColinQuinn.com.
Colin’s most recent one-man show Colin Quinn: The New York Story, directed by Jerry Seinfeld, enjoyed a sold-out engagement off-Broadway at The Cherry Lane Theatre with The New York Times lauding him as “perfectly charming” and The Hollywood Reporter describing the show as “a breezily entertaining comedic lecture that makes him seem like the coolest university professor ever.” Colin Quinn: Long Story Short garnered a Drama Desk Award nomination.
Colin Quinn is a stand-up comedian from Brooklyn who’s best known for his beloved run hosting Weekend Update on NBC’s iconic Saturday Night Live and as host of Comedy Central’s classic fan-favorite series Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. He appeared in the hit HBO series Girls as well as the comedy feature film 'Trainwreck' alongside Amy Schumer. His web series Cop Show is streaming on lstudio.com and his book, The Coloring Book, is now out from Grand Central Publishing.
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