Twenty years ago, Jimmy Tingle shifted his career into DIY mode when he rented out the Hasty Pudding Theatre for an extended run of his comic one-man show. He has followed that path ever since, taking on the financial risk and responsibility of running the house — almost exclusively in New England — including a five-year stint as proprietor of Jimmy Tingle’s Off-Broadway Theater in Davis Square, Somerville. When he plays New Year’s Eve at the Wilbur, that’s going to change.
It’s unusual, Tingle notes in a telephone interview, for a comedian to rent a space to put on his or her own show. That business is usually handled by bookers or producers. Tingle took the initiative so he could develop the show he wanted to see and for a bigger stage. “By doing it yourself and being your own producer, it just gave you the freedom to do things,” he says. “If I had to wait for a producer for that to happen, I probably never would have gotten into that theater.”
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