Lewis Black is angry a lot of the time. At least in public. For the political comedian, that’s part of what people expect of him.
Since his origins in suburban Maryland, then New York City, he’s been a staple of the stand-up scene since the 1980s. Black will be coming to Milwaukee this week for his "Rant, White and Blue" tour, and like much of his comedy, it's political. But while he takes a deep dive into the modern political landscape, you likely won't hear Black uttering the name of the U.S. President and there's a reason.
He says, "I try not to use his name anymore. So I refer to him as 'the President,' or 'the topic.' And I don't really like talking about him, but you're forced into the position of talking about him... there's a part of my audience that shows up and really wants me to talk about him."
Although much of his comedy is based in politics, he wishes he could do even more jokes about what's happening in the federal government. Black wants to do more jokes about the EPA or Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, but he says there’s something missing from the national discussion.
"The news media’s leaving it up to me to find the information and leaving it up to the people to find the information. So that the set-ups that I need that will allow me to do the joke aren’t here for people to have access to," he explains.
Lewis Black performs in Milwaukee Friday and Saturday, November 10 and 11, at the Pabst Theater.
