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Finding the funny bone By Jeanne Millsap - Herald Correspondent

Eagles Club general manager Paula Rybak welcomes comedians Mike Lebovitz, Tony Carr, Chris Fair and Ricky March to perform in Morris last Friday evening. (Herald photos by Jeanne Millsap)

If laughter is the best medicine, all illnesses were cured at the Morris Eagles Club. Chicago-area comedians brought in for Comedy Night rocked the club last Friday night and had most vowing to return to the next comedy night. The club opened its doors to the public for its third comedy event over the past year. “I think it was really awesome,” said Morris resident Rita Harris at the end of the evening. “Tonight was very impressive. It was Chicago flair with hometown style. It was quite a treat for us for eight bucks.” Harris said she and boyfriend Duane Heck were a little nervous at first about sitting at the front table, right under the noses of the comedians, but it ended up being the best seat in the house. “It was absolutely a blast,” she said. “You must sit at the front table.” Heck said the comedians he heard Friday were at least as good as any he has heard at other comedy clubs in the Chicago suburbs.

Jen Surber, of Morris, echoed the sentiments, saying she and her husband had just gone to a comedy club in Chicago, and that she thought the line-up of Eagles Club comics was funnier than the Chicago set. Eagles general manager Paula Rybak said that’s just what she had planned. “Every bar in the world has bands and karaoke,” she said. “I wanted something different. These guys are a lot of fun.” Comedian and producer Tony Carr performed and lined up the acts for Friday, which were Mike Lebovitz, who also hosted the event; Chris Fair; Shawn Mukherji; and headliner Ricky March. Topics were all over, from raising children, to the universal “thrill” of eating at McDonalds, to childhood speech defects, being vertically challenged, Christmas decorations overdue to be taken down, marriage, and nursery rhymes.

Even the local sheriff, Big R, and Morris holiday decorations took hits. Much of the comedy was blue, and Rybak was sure to let people know this was not watered-down comedy. Tony Carr, who lives in Minooka, said he has been playing comedy clubs for about five years, many of those in San Francisco and L.A. “I’ve always been into stand-up,” he said. When he was a young child, he would set up an elaborate system of mirrors so he could watch The Tonight Show on the living room television from his bedroom. In addition to Johnny Carson, favorite comedians were Bill Cosby and George Carlin. Carr did his first stand-up at a San Francisco club, The Brainwash, during open mic night. “I went twice and didn’t go on stage,” he said. “I would shake just watching.” It was quite an experience finally going on stage, he said. And the venue was another interesting experience. Carr described The Brainwash as part Internet café, part deli, and part bar, with a stage up front and a laundry mat lining the back wall. “Half of the people there would have just preferred the comedians leave so they could get their laundry done,” he said with a laugh. “I did nine minutes. It was awful.” Carr said comedy is actually a little bit more difficult in and around his hometown than it was in California, because he sometimes looks out in the audience and sees someone he knows. “In San Francisco, it was easier because I didn’t care,” he said. Morris-area people don’t always go for some of the “bluer” comedy that Californians do, either, he said. The last time he played Morris, he said there was one woman who heckled him about going too far with some jokes on a certain subject. Part of Carr’s act Friday centered on his shorter stature. “They have big and tall stores,” he said. “Why not short and scrawny stores?” He joked about finally finding a pair of jeans that fit him perfectly, but they had Winnie the Pooh on the side. He also made fun of having to purchase suits from the children’s department. “Are you aware that on a kid’s suit,” he asked, “not all the pockets are real?”

The evening’s headliner, Ricky March, brought Morris and Grundy County into his act by commenting on a local store, a local law enforcement officer, and even the downtown Christmas decorations in Morris - still up in mid-January. “The holidays are over,” he said. March talked about married life, as well, and about what role he believes husbands play. It’s all about giving up your free will, he said. “Wake up in the morning and just admit, ‘I’m wrong, I’m wrong. I apologize. I’m wrong.’” He also wondered about the television show, “Lost.” “It’s been seven years they’ve been stranded on that island,” he said, “and the fat guy’s still fat.” March said he must have discovered a cheeseburger bush somewhere on the island. March also suggested a class for Chicago school students. They should take shooting classes there, he said, so the drive-by shooters won’t miss and keep hitting innocent bystanders. Comedian and host Mike Lebovitz introduced the comedians through the night and, along with March and Carr, was an audience favorite. His jokes included ones about being a father, living in Chicago, and working as an office temp. His favorite time of the year was between Thanksgiving and Christmas, he said, when he could tell his young son that he could ask Santa for those things, whenever his son would ask him to buy him a toy.

Chris Fair entertained with stories of growing up with a speech impediment. At one point, he said he sounded like Elmer Fudd. The audience loved his stories of studying Spanish, while he was still struggling with pronunciations in English. That he chose to major in communications in college drew the most laughs. His trouble remembering names was also a favorite. One date had her name tattooed on her body, and he found he still had trouble remembering her name. “I even had a cheat sheet,” he said, “and I couldn’t get it right.”

There was even a teenager comedian. Shawn Mukherji attends Wabaunsee Valley High School. On his Web site, Carr calls his act, “Comedy with a Curfew.” Mukherji’s family is from India. “I’m the only non-white person in Morris tonight,” he said. He also joked about his father’s tendencies for extreme frugality, telling a story about when he was in a car wreck. “Who’s going to pay for this,” he said his father asked him after he wrecked the car. The father kept repeating the question as his son told him he was hurt, he was going to the hospital, he might die. “Who’s going to pay for the ambulance. . . Who’s going pay the hospital bill . . . Who’s going to pay for the funeral?” he said his father asked. Then, Mukherji said he realized how long the phone call was lasting and asked his father, “Do you realize how much minutes cost these days? Who’s going to pay this phone bill?” The next Comedy Night at Morris Eagles Club, corner of Liberty and Washington Streets, will be Feb. 12. For further information, call (815) 942-0395. For information on the comedians who performed there last week, visit TonyCarrComedy.com.