If you’ve never seen Nick Swardson perform live, your first experience might be disorienting. It might be strange. It might confuse you. And it will definitely have you laughing.
As opposed to many other comics working small theaters (and even clubs), Swardson engages hecklers. He doesn’t have them thrown out or have them silenced. Whatever someone from the audience throws at him, Swardson either uses it in a joke or throws it back at the heckler, making that person the butt of the joke. What he does is very specific because he’s not an insult comic, and he isn’t there to make audience members feel badly. Rather, it’s an interactive show where the Minnesota-born performer is the star and the people who have paid to see him are his supporting players. It makes for an unpredictable evening where the proverbial train often goes off the track and the proverbial passengers aren’t wearing their proverbial seatbelts.
This type of quick wit is likely why the 41-year-old became both a favorite of Adam Sandler, who has cast Swardson in films including You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Pixels and Sandy Wexler among others, and the team behind Reno 911, where the actor developed a cult following for playing Terry, the roller-skating gigolo. See him live and he might become your favorite, too.
The Mirage, 10 p.m. April 27, starting at $49.99 plus tax and fee, 16+. 702.792.7777
