By Nick A. Zaino III Globe correspondent,Updated December 13, 2021
Eugene Mirman has what many would consider an ideal work situation. He can earn a living by staying home — he records the voice for Gene in the hit show “Bob’s Burgers” in his own sound booth — which is especially helpful since he is a single father raising a 5-year-old boy. The arrangement has helped keep him safe during a pandemic. But lockdown has also kept him from one of his favorite activities — putting together nights like his “Eugene Mirman and Friends Holiday Show,” which plays City Winery Saturday.
In the years prior to the pandemic, Mirman would put together projects like “The Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival” or “Pretty Good Friends,” bringing together talented friends from stand-up, music, writing, and radio to create an offbeat but casual party. Other than opening for a couple of Mike Birbiglia’s shows in Massachusetts and some sets at The Comedy Studio, Mirman hasn’t been onstage for roughly 20 months.
“I just haven’t done shows, and [I] wanted to do a show and wanted to get friends together when it seems really as safe as it’s gonna be,” he says.
So far, that list of friends includes comedian and essayist Maeve Higgins, Throwing Muses and Belly singer/songwriter Tanya Donelly, and poet Derrick C. Brown. There will likely be a surprise guest or two. Everybody will have their own sets, but Mirman expects some collaboration in the form of comedy bits and songs. “I think there’ll be like a Christmas song that me and some friends wrote, and probably like a Christmas story that I’ll perform with friends,” he says. Like the holidays, the main point of the evening is the gathering. “This is in the spirit of that.”
For the full story, click the link below:
