Comedian Sam Morrison is coming to Chicago with his show Sugar Daddy. This Brooklyn-based gay writer created the act both to deal with his personal health issues and process the grief of losing his partner Jonathan Kreissman to COVID-19.
Sugar Daddy played off-Broadway and had a successful sold-out run in London. This led to him performing segments of his comedy on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Tonight Show and RuPaul's DragCon.
Audiences in the Windy City will be treated to his standup show in early January.
Windy City Times: Are you originally from New York?
Sam Morrison: I am from Sarasota, Florida. I went to school in Upstate New York and after I graduated, I moved to New York City because of family roots there.
WCT: Talk about using your background in your comedy act.
SM: I am gay, so that's big and will be huge for the show in Chicago! [laughs] My identifiers are that I am an anxious, asthmatic, gay, diabetic Jew. That hits them all with some sexy options. [laughs]
I talk a lot about my diabetes because I was diagnosed two years ago. It is a huge part of my life now, and there is a lot of humor in the story of my diagnosis while learning how to cope with it. I find it so funny with these devices on my body.
My Jewish family in Florida has influenced my style in ways that are more subconscious than I realize. There are several variations of my comedic voice. Sometimes I am very high energy and sometimes not. It is the same offstage. I can introverted and anxious at times and sometimes I am in my social butterfly moment.
WCT: How did Sugar Daddy come together?
SM: It happened because my boyfriend passed away and I didn't know how to get back into comedy. I was writing jokes and used it as a coping mechanism. Eventually I found the right time and place to perform the jokes. It went over well enough to try again, and it organically happened.
I came up with the pun of "Sugar Daddy," so I knew the title and started doing work-in-progress shows. I had previously done two other solo shows so I wanted to think of a concept that would be interesting. This one came from a very different place than the first two.
WCT: This sounds very personal. What are the challenges of talking about the death of a loved one onstage?
SM: It is very difficult, especially at first. As a comedian, you have to figure out how to talk about such an intense thing, to prep the audience and get them in the right headspace, where they are comfortable laughing at grief jokes. At the same time, I am figuring myself out and how I will react to everything.
There was a certain feeling that I was chasing that was so satisfying when it would work. It was a positive experience when that would happen.
I tried it technically many different ways and, eventually, I found a way to talk about it.
WCT: What do you think Jonathan would say about your show?
SM: I think about that every time that I perform the show. I get very emotional when I think about it, but he would be very proud of me.
WCT: How are audiences in London compared to audiences in the United States?
SM: Well, they don't laugh! I am kidding. They are different culturally and with references. There is a difference in the way that they see solo shows. Comedic solo shows are a lot more popular and recognizable there than they are here, especially four years ago.
It used to only be John Leguizamo and Mike Birbiglia with one-person touring shows. Now there is Hannah Gadsby, Hasan Minhaj and Jerrod Carmichael who are doing similar things. In the UK it has always been like that.
They are more of a theater audience than a comedy audience. I think of the Comedy Cellar as a club at midnight on a Saturday night, where they are rowdy and I am just trying to get them to laugh. In Europe, they come to the theater looking for something profound and theatrical that they haven't seen before. It is a slightly different vibe. That is not always the case, but in some parts of town that is certainly true.
WCT: Who are some comedians that you admire?
SM: I have been watching Sarah Silverman recently and Bo Burnham has been with me as we have both grown up. He has influenced my style. Some lesser-known people are Ashley Gavin, Dylan Adler and Nore Davis.
WCT: I recently discovered that I am Jewish from Ancestry.com. What advice can you give me in exploring this?
SM: Use it and leverage it to get as many free items of food from Jewish events as you can go to. I love the food, so go explore that!
WCT: What's your favorite dish?
SM: Matzo ball soup and latkes.
WCT: You have the Big Gay Cruise scheduled in February. What else is scheduled for the new year?
SM: I am writing a television show. I am always touring with more dates in the spring. There will be more Sugar Daddy on the way. I haven't done it in a while, so this version will be slightly different and I am excited to share it.
Morrison performs on the Heath Mainstage, 1331 North Milwaukee Avenue, on January 11, 2024. Visit thedentheatre.com or call 773-697-3830 for tickets and information.
For more on Morrison click over to samualmorrison.com .