Comedian Brings One-Man Show To Queens

By STEVEN J. FERRARI

Comedian John Fugelsang is no stranger to the stage. In addition to touring his own act and making appearances on television, Fugelsang is part of “Stephanie Miller’s Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour,” which recently became the first political comedy album to reach No. 1 on the comedy charts for iTunes, Amazon and Billboard.

But when he takes the stage at the Queens Theatre on Jan. 28, he will be doing something different, something more personal.

“Guilt: A Love Story” is billed as “a comedy of terrors.” Fugelsang calls it a comedy-drama-suspense-romance. The one-man show tells the story of his parents’ courtship, a Catholic nun and a Franciscan brother who broke their vows and married. He said it’s a tale of people choosing love over religion. With his father’s health failing, his mother makes a request that leads to the comedy of terrors, featuring Homeland Security disasters, celebrity white supremacists, bad behavior and unexpected miracles.

“It’s a show that’s both edgy and wholesome,” Fugelsang said. “It’s like George Carlin and Spalding Grey had a child.”

The show debuting at the Queens Theatre is “a new and improved version” of an older Off Broadway performance Fugelsang toured with four years ago. Since the show’s maiden voyage, Fugelsang’s father has passed away, which inspired the new tour of the show.

The comedian said there’s been a number of changes to the show since it premiered, which he said he hopes will make it a more enjoyable experience.

Comedian John Fugelsang.

“It’s a more efficient version of the show,” he said. “You do these things and you take them on the road and they get so much better.”

Fugelsang said he was a fan of solo theater and the challenges a one-man show represents.

“It’s very, very challenging to focus on myself and focus on religion,” he said.

Some of the stories Fugelsang said he plans to put in the show includes one of his many appearances on “Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,” with David Duke, the well-known former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. On the air, Fugelsang offered Duke sexual services if he would stop saying racist things on the show.

“My parents didn’t talk to me for a week after that, because I was talking dirty on television,” he said.

The performance at the Queens Theatre is one night only and after that, Fugelsang said he was taking the show back on the road. Fugelsang said he fell in love with the theater after doing a play reading there years ago with Richard Kind. The theater offered him a spot for a performance, he said and he jumped at the chance.

“It’s this incredible, gorgeous space that I didn’t know existed,” he said.

In addition to performing “Guilt: A Love Story,” Fugelsang is preparing for a tour of the “Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour,” with Stephanie Miller and Hal Sparks. The political tour started in Madison, Wis., last spring as an effort to raise money for the recall efforts of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Since then, the tour has gone nationwide, raising money for progressive causes. The show has included guests like Rob Reiner and Lily Tomlin.

The trio’s tour has yet to hit New York City, but Fugelsang said there were plans to bring the show to the Big Apple before the 2012 elections in November.

Until then, Fugelsang said he was focusing on his one-man show. He said he was looking forward to bringing the revamped show back on tour and that he hopes the people that come out enjoy the performance.

“It’s a one-man show for people who hate one-man shows,” he said. “It’s the sort of thing you can bring the whole family to.”

Tickets for “Guilt: A Love Story” start at $40 and are available at www.queenstheatre.org.

For information, visit the website or call (800) 300-6985.

Reach Managing Editor Steven J. Ferrari at sferrari@queenstribune.com or call (718) 357-7400, Ext. 122.