Onstage at the Freeland presents the world-renowned comedy of Brad Upton on Saturday, October 16th. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 with local musical sensation Carmen Bruner opening. In a welcomed twist, Onstage at the Freeland will present Mr. Upton at Venue 66 for a more club-like experience complete with an engaging evening of jazz music and adult comedy to include hors d’oeuvres and adult beverages, which are included with the purchase of a ticket. Due to ticket sales including adult beverages, entry to the event is strictly limited to adults older than 21 years of age.
Comedian Brad Upton spent his younger years in the eastern half of Washington state, growing up in Richland and later teaching fourth grade students in nearby Pasco. He continued to teach until the fateful day he signed up for an open mic night in Seattle: the laughter shared ‘round the world—well, not quite. That laughter came years later, long after an open mic performance that quickly led to a love of standup comedy and major life-transition in the pursuit of laughter.
Brad recalls being a small child and observing his dad laughing as he watched comedians on television. Of the observation, Brad says “I had no idea why he was laughing, but I liked watching my dad laugh. Watching him laugh made me happy. I wanted to make people laugh.” That desire coupled with another experience at age fifteen sparked his dream of becoming a comedian and making people laugh.
At age fifteen, Brad attended a live George Carlin performance. Reflecting, he said “I remember sitting there before the show. The audience was buzzing. They were excited. it was electric. I could feel it in the air. As I looked up at the stage and saw just a stool, a mic, and a glass of water, I thought, ‘He’s just gonna [sic] come out here with that microphone, and that’s all he’s got. There’s no band. There’s no music. It’s just him and his brain and his mouth, and he’s gonna [sic] entertain this audience.’ I was mesmerized. I decided I wanted to do that. I believed I could do it, and I did.”
In fact, he did it very well. He has made a wonderful career, performing stand-up comedy for the last 37 years. In addition to George Carlin, comedians Robert Klein, David Steinberg, and Kelly Monteith accentuated his desire to create laughter. Today, Brad shares his influential belief that “Laughter is healing. It’s wonderful for all of us.” Despite cancellations due to COVID, he has performed more than 6,200 shows to date, having resumed his performances last May. Throughout the pandemic, we have found ourselves starved of laughter and joy, which Brad aims to restore during his performance at Venue 66.
Brad has performed in both Tulsa and Oklahoma City but has never visited Bristow. He shared his excitement for the new opportunity to share laughter with the community. The show has been booked for about two years, having been delayed a few times due to COVID. As the show comes to fruition, Brad said “I’m looking forward to meeting Bristow and having some fun!”
No audience is too large or too small for a good time. Brad disclosed that some of his smallest audiences of four to sixteen people have been more fun than those of 2,200 or more. He once performed at the Tacoma Dome for New Year’s with Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers for his largest audience of 22,000 people. More recently and regularly, Brad performed at the Grand Ole Opry, which is his favorite venue due to the atmosphere. “The people are close to the stage. The acoustics are shockingly amazing, and the laughter sounds like a roar. It’s just such an honor to step in the circle at the Grand Ole Opry and entertain.” The venue seats about 4,400, which is about the population of Bristow.
In tribute to the great generational divide and our easily offended culture, Mr. Upton mixes real experiences with the mildly offensive, metamorphized beliefs across generations to provoke laughter and a sense of familiarity for all audience members. For example, during a portion of a previous show, Mr. Upton compared Boomers with Gen Zers, pointing out why Gen Zers are dumb. Without revealing his full joke, he quipped in part “When I was growing up, we didn’t have childproof caps. When you dropped a Coke bottle, it didn’t bounce, it shattered. Our parents let us play with guns, knives, and fireworks. You know what happened to the dumb kids? They didn’t make it.”
In fairness, he has a point: when was the last time we allowed ourselves to risk a little and be able to learn, live, and laugh at ourselves? Generational comedy moves us to laugh and take ourselves a little less seriously. When someone texts 911 or fails to navigate an escalator, most of us cannot resist Schadenfreude, laughing at their humiliating pain and failure; eventually, however, the tables turn. Regarding that laughter shared ‘round the world, Brad boasts the most viewed stand-up performance of all time with more than 87 million views, 12 million occurring within the first 48 hours, after Dry Bar Comedy uploaded and shared a now-viral video online. He aptly expressed his gratitude, saying “I am never lost with how lucky I am to do this for a living. This is what I wanted to do. It was a dream, and I get to do it. Almost every time, in the middle of my show somewhere, I am reminded that I get to live my dream. It’s like getting goosebumps. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.” For that reason, he has no plans to retire.
As a comedian, he most enjoys the laughter, the audience, and the mental stimulation of performing live and adjusting in real-time for the audience. Audience members are encouraged to bring energy, build excitement, be engaged, interact, have fun, and maintain a lively energy level to enhance their experience.
For his part, Mr. Upton’s comedic performance offers every attendee, whether a young or vintage adult, the opportunity to be amusingly offended and to enjoy the hilarious failures of others throughout the revelrous evening. So, for a fun-filled, laughter-infused night on the town, be sure to get a ticket before they sell out and enjoy the music of Carmen Bruner and comedic quips of Brad Upton. All-inclusive tickets can be purchased at etix.com for $40 each.
Special thanks to Chip Cooper and Onstage at the Freeland for bringing the internationally renowned talent of Brad Upton to Bristow for the community to enjoy. For additional information about Brad, visit www.bradupton.com, follow “Brad Upton” on Facebook, or check out his Instagram “@braduptoncomedy”.