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Actor David Alan Grier talks comedy before his Wilbur appearance

Colette Greenstein
Colette Greenstein has been a contributing arts & entertainment writer for the Banner since 2009. VIEW BIO
Actor David Alan Grier talks comedy before his Wilbur appearance
Actor/comedian David Alan Grier Courtesy of ROAR management

A naturally gifted comedian and actor, David Alan Grier, has made millions of people laugh through such memorable characters as ‘Antoine Merriweather,’ blues guitarist ‘Calhoun Tubbs,’ and ‘Clavelle’ of Funky Finger Productions on the ground-breaking sketch/comedy series In Living Color, which ran on FOX-TV from 1990-1994.

A Shakespearean-trained actor, Grier graduated from the Yale School of Drama with an MFA and began his professional career debuting on Broadway as Jackie Robinson in “The First.” He earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a musical and won a Theater World Award for the role in 1981. His next project was appearing in the Broadway cast of Dreamgirls before going on to star opposite Denzel Washington in A Soldier’s Play. Both Grier and Washington reprised their roles in the 1984 film adaptation, A Soldier’s Story.

Over a career spanning 30 years, Grier has defied categorization. The multi-talented actor appeared last year opposite Kerry Washington and Craig Robinson in the ensemble comedy, Peeples. In 2012, Grier starred as the character Sporting Life in the Broadway revival of Porgy and Bess in which he earned his third Tony Award nomination. In 2008, Grier created, wrote and executive-produced the sketch comedy series Chocolate News on Comedy Central, and he’s an author having written Barack Like Me: The Chocolate Covered Truth.

“The evolution of that book started out about Barack Obama and started as a memoir; my experience in this country as a grown African America man and the election of an African American president,” said Grier by phone.

Earlier this year, Grier starred as Principal Carl Gaines in the CBS comedy Bad Teacher, which was based upon the movie with the same name. An avid foodie who’s always experimenting with different recipes, such as making his own soy sauce, [check out his blog for more on that], Grier spoke with the Banner recently about his latest project, stand-up comedy, and Twitter.

What have you been up to lately?

David Alan Grier: My writing partner and I have been working on a script for the last year. We just turned it in now. I’ve wanted to do a cooking show for years and no one took me seriously. I would want to do another show on Broadway. Right now, I want to get this TV show that I wrote. It’s an hour drama, not a comedy and is real heavy. I’m real proud of this script.

This past summer we saw Keenen [Ivory Wayans] as a judge on Last Comic Standing. Have you been approached to be a judge on a show?

DAG: Last Comic Standing approached me years ago to be a judge but I said ‘no.’ It was right around the time that they revealed that the judges didn’t pick the winners. That’s when they came and asked me. I did Marlon Wayans’ show and it was fun to watch these guys and give them advice. I’m the elder statesman.

You’ve been doing stand-up for some time. How do you keep it fresh and what will you be talking about on-stage at The Wilbur?

DAG: The audiences have been awesome. It’s been a few years in development. I love Twitter and Instagram and being able to communicate with my fans directly. It’s like when Prince released his album online and people thought he was crazy. Podcasts are blowing up. We’re in an awesome time. It’s an online dialogue. The art of stand-up is I’m giving the audience hopefully an entertaining update on my life. I talk about where I’m at right now; fatherhood, my daughter, my failed relationships, Ebola, the government.

Not to get too serious but we’ve had a few comics who’ve past away earlier this year like Robin Williams, John Pinette and David Brenner.

DAG: It’s funny you bring it up. I tried to model my career on people I’ve admired. Robin Williams wasn’t afraid to reframe the discussion; the way that he attacked drama, his outlandish comedy. I’ve been acting for 30 years. I can’t believe people are still interested in me. I love life. I love the challenge of the day. Every time I go on stage it’s to make you laugh and to be successful. I loved Robin and we worked together in Jumanji. He was the sweetest man. The way for his life to end was a tragedy. You can’t put all of your eggs in this business. It’s always about the last special, the last album, there’s constant pressure. There are some artists who take themselves out it. I love Sarah Silverman. She’s productive, beautiful, and sexy. She keeps evolving as an artist. I want to be like that.

The Wilbur presents David Alan Grier this Friday, October 19 at 9:55 p.m. Tickets: $25-$35; www.ticketmaster.com