Michael Jr. brings laughter and encourages audiences to use life experiences

Sometimes something miserable must come before something happy.  This was the experience of the crowd who huddled in the cold, dark rain outside the Concert Hall Friday night in the hopes that the Michael Jr. comedy show would make everything worth it.

Some people reached the doors only to learn that it was a “Clear Bag Policy” event. Husbands trudged back to the parking deck with their wives’ purses.

Shoulders were soaked, fingers went numb, breath frosted in the air. Hands took turns: one to hold an umbrella, the other shoved in a pocket to warm up, then switch. 

But then they were inside the Concert Hall, rapidly warming up and ready to laugh.

The comedian, Michael Jr., held the concert hall entranced, jumping from one short setup and punch line to the next with no transition needed but the audience’s laughter. He told anecdotes of baseball, awkwardness, the strangeness of common idioms and more. There hardly seemed to be a minute without roars of guffaws.

 “He’s cool, collected,” Shaquille Cook, an audience member said. “… I like his style. It keeps me on my toes.”

Cook had seen Michael Jr.’s previous performances at Liberty and was expecting some of the same material. To his surprise, all the jokes were new.

Michael Jr. was comfortable with the crowd, casually interacting with them. 

“Welcome to the show,” he said, giving a curt wave to one couple who arrived late. 

The man copied the movement, drawing more laughter, and the couple sat down while Michael Jr. ribbed them further.

“Great laugh right there,” he said when one person’s giggle sounded almost like a shriek. “Sounded like someone stabbing a gerbil.”

Near the end of the show, Michael Jr. did a segment called “On Break” which consisted entirely of interacting with the audience. No jokes were planned, but they poured forth anyway, improvised.

He picked a random college-age boyfriend and girlfriend to get to know and to tease, and then asked for the couple in the audience who had been married longest. That was Earl Larkin and his wife, Cathy, who have been married for 44 years.

Michael Jr. was disappointed to learn that there had not been a dramatic, formal marriage proposal between the two.

“You know you ain’t really married,” he said.

In response, Larkin got down on one knee between the seats, as if to formally propose, and asked his wife, “Will you stay married to me?”

“Really, really intelligent guy,” Larkin later said of Michael Jr. “You’ve got to be some special kind of comedian to respond to anything anybody says.”

But Michael Jr. did not focus merely on the lighthearted. He also spoke on the importance of giving and receiving. 

He offered his merchandise table as an exercise in it: audience members could buy extra DVDs or books to leave for others in the crowd who could not afford it. And to those who wanted the proffered merchandise, he said, should not feel too prideful to ask for it.

“If you don’t feel comfortable coming to the table, you’re probably not comfortable coming to (God’s) table,” Michael Jr. said.

Larkin agreed with Michael Jr.’s encouragement for generosity. Indeed, the next morning Larkin was at Food for Thought, filling bags with food for school children to take home on the weekends.  

“We recently retired — but I like to say, ‘not retired, (I’m) repurposed’ — and that’s why I volunteer so much now,” Larkin said. “I wish when I was working and raising kids and just busy like crazy, I really could have spent more time investing in other people. Because, even selfishly, the benefits are so worth it to me.”

Larkin agrees with the importance of being able to receive as well, citing the time he had lymphoma a decade ago. Larkin had to learn not to react with pride when friends wanted to do things like mow his lawn for him, which he could do himself.

“My wife told me, ‘God’s working in these people’s lives, not just yours,’” Larkin said. “’You’re going to deprive them of a blessing if you don’t let them do (this) for you.’”

Michael Jr. said the generosity aspect of Christianity changed the way he
does comedy.

“In between the jokes I’m asking, ‘What can I give to this audience?’” Michael Jr. said. “As opposed to ‘What joke should I do?’, which is really about getting laughs. I made this shift where, instead of trying to get laughs I’m trying to give people an opportunity to laugh. This shift changed
everything.”

One mode of generosity that Michael Jr. suggested was his charity Punchliners, a network of non-profits and volunteers.

“Let me explain comedy to you,” Michael Jr. said. “First there’s a setup, then there’s a punch line.”

According to Michael Jr., the setup is like your collection of talents and resources, and the punch line is when you take things in another direction from what was expected. Or, as Michael Jr. put it, use your setup to benefit others.

“There’s people who need you to deliver your punch line,” he said.