Comedians get better laughs if they have some skin in the game. The guys in the Comic Strippers have got it, so they're going to flaunt it.
For those who've never been to a Comic Strippers show before, it's entertainment for adults but it's not adult entertainment, so to speak. These jokesters make a mockery of the male body and the male peeler industry, but they keep their clothes (mostly) on. It's all a hilarious act that sells out from coast to coast and is already one hot ticket for their upcoming gigs here in Prince George.
"I love coming to Prince George. Summers are so nice there. I found a great path to walk down along the river. It's a beautiful city with a great attitude," said Comic Strippers founder Roman Danylo. "We sort of got started in Prince George. We put the show together in Vancouver and got it ready, but Prince George was one of those places we went to first test it out. So in a way, it's your fault, P.G."
Danylo says Comic Strippers was destined to succeed. Everyone loves the idea of strippers, it's a primal guilty pleasure for men and women alike, for all ages of consent. Everyone loves to laugh and get a kick out of a funny story. Everyone loves improvisational comedy for the quick wit it plays with. The Comic Strippers are all of these things combined.
"This is a perfectly Canadian way of presenting male strippers," said Danylo. "The U.S. has Chippendales, Australia has Thunder From Down Under, and Canada has The Comic Strippers. It's just like us Canadians to make a joke out of it."
If hockey and lacrosse are the national sports, parody and satire might be the national arts. A bunch of middle-aged buddies with dad-bod who actually don't take their clothes (all) off in public probably couldn't stimulate an audience in any other country but here in the land of hard wood and nice beavers, they are becoming national stars.
"It's all tongue in cheek," said Danylo. "There's definitely nothing that's ever been written down, this isn't scripted per se, but we do have bits that we've worked out, little scenarios, I'd say more than 100 of them by now, and they get used on stage as the inspiration strikes us. And the joy for us is coming up with new ones, so the show stays fresh and original every time. No two shows are even close to the same."
Sometimes they'll bring up the scenario of "the new guy" who's working towards earning his purple bow tie the way the karate athlete works up to the black belt. Then there's the old veteran stripper who is about ready for his last show and wants to quit with no regrets. There is the foreigner who's in the troupe on a stripper exchange program. There's the bit about the former stripper to the Queen who's now in their troupe.
And of course, there's the dancing. From Magic Mike to The Full Monty, everyone knows you can't do a male stripper review - even a satirical one - without bustin' a move.
"Oh yeah, we're highly trained dancers. We sit and watch music videos and go 'oooh, yeah, let's try that move there.' Sometimes we pull a muscle, but anything for our art," said Danylo.
In seriousness (yeah, that's gonna happen when you talk to a Comic Stripper), they are highly trained. It's just not in dancing. Or stripping. The cast members come from years of background work as standup comedians, actors, writers, musicians, and a fair few on the team at the Vancouver Theatre Sports League. There are usually four on stage for any given Comic Strippers gig, but there are six or seven main members who rotate in and out depending on the circumstances, plus more who are less frequent.
"We do get intriguing inquiries every now and then from people who don't quite get what we are," Danylo said. "It's an adults-only show but that's because of the jokes, not the bodies. Straight men come, office staff parties come, moms bring their daughters and grandmas along as a generational night out, because we're just making fun of all this stuff. No one's ever going to surprise you with a horrible flash of a thong or something. There's a group all across Canada called the Red Hat Society for ladies of maturity, and they've sort of taken us on as a favourite thing to do. Because we are so mature. But we do get a lot of men and I get it, I really get it. After seeing our bodies on stage, they now look really great to all the ladies, so it's really in everyone's best interest."
The Comic Strippers have a pair of shows coming up Friday and Saturday at the P.G. Playhouse. Tickets are at the Central Interior Tickets website or call 250-596-0020.
