Chris Rock @ The Paramount

The first show sold out so fast they added a second đŸŽ™ïž

📾: Courtesy Chris Rock

October 18 – 19 SOLD OUT!

Don’t worry if you’re sick of talking about “The Slap” at the 2022 Oscars ceremony, because all reports from earlier stops in Chris Rock’s months-long world tour say he only briefly touches on the event. Instead of engaging in an infinite cycle of scandal, it turns out that Ego Death World Tour is about
 the impending collapse of America. That’s better, right?

Thank god that Rock still crafts jokes with the skill of someone who’s been doing this for 40 years, and witnessing him sprint to the far edges of provocation (and only occasionally teetering over into full curmudgeon) has been the draw of much of his stand-up career. His delivery does wonders with some of his more incendiary material, energizing it and forcing you to engage without it feeling like he’s just lobbing stinkbombs into the audience.

It’s not a controversial statement that Rock, one of the most influential modern stand-up comics, is at his best on the stage. His offstage career has more rises and falls: On one end you have four seasons of his underrated autobiographical UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, early memorable turns in CB4 and New Jack City, and getting lots of money voicing a cartoon zebra in the Madagascar movies; on the other end is his ignored seasons on Saturday Night Live, his not-quite-there directorial work (political satire Head of State, Rohmer remake I Think I Love My Wife, the self-reflexive Top Five), and that weird Saw sequel in 2021.

So it’s wonderful to hear that his stand-up is still in demand; a second show at the Paramount was added very quickly after a lightning-fast sellout. See one of our top comedians fully in their element if you get the chance.

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Author

Marcus Gorman

Marcus Gorman is a Seattle-based playwright and film programmer. He once raised money for a synagogue by marathoning 15 Adam Sandler movies in one weekend. You can find him on Instagram and Twitter @marcus_gorman.