Lewis Black: The Rant is Due Tour Part Deux is coming to the Belle Mehus Auditorium on October 2. Doors open at 7 pm, Show at 8 pm. Tickets on-sale now! Reserved seating, mature audiences, $48.50. Additional fees may apply. Tickets can be purchased online at bismarckeventcenter.com, Bismarck Event Center box office or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
Known as the king of the rant, Lewis Black uses his trademark style of comedic yelling and animated finger-pointing to skewer anything and anyone that gets under his skin. His comedic brilliance lies in his ability to make people laugh at the absurdities of life, with topics that include current events, social media, politics and anything else that exposes the hypocrisy and madness he sees in the world.
The multi-Emmy and Grammy-winning, Lewis was born in Washington D.C. on Aug 30, 1948 and raised in Silver Spring, MD. Colicky as a baby, it seems he was destined to be angry and easily irritated. His mother, a teacher, and his father, a mechanical engineer, instilled in both Lewis and his younger brother Ron the importance of education and the necessity to question authority; lessons which have influenced Lewis throughout his private and professional life.
When Lewis was 12, his father took him to his first play and he quickly fell in love with the theatre. This ultimately led Lewis to pursue a career in drama. Degrees followed from the University of North Carolina and Yale Drama School, with a stint in Colorado owning a theatre with a group of friends in the interim. During his tenure at UNC, Lewis first ventured into stand-up, performing at Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill. Stand-up continued to be a steady presence as he pursued his career in theatre.
Lewis eventually settled in New York City and became the playwright-in-residence at the West Bank Café’s Downstairs Theatre Bar. He oversaw the development of more than 1,000 plays, including works by “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin, “American Beauty” writer Alan Ball as well as his own original works. In addition to overseeing the works on stage, Lewis emceed every show. As the West Bank grew, so did Lewis’ skill as a stand-up and eventually, the fulfillment of performing stand-up outweighed that of working in the theater.
In 1996, his friend Lizz Winstead tapped him to create a weekly segment for a show she was producing on Comedy Central called The Daily Show. The segment, a three minute rant about whatever was bothering him at the moment, evolved into Back in Black. It became one of the most popular and longest running segments on the show and also created a long and successful relationship with the network. Since then, Lewis has taped four specials for the “Comedy Central Presents” series, co-created “Last Laugh with Lewis Black,” presided over “Lewis Black’s The Root of All Evil,” and continues to perform “Back in Black” on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” His popular appearances on Comedy Central helped to win him Best Male Stand-Up at the American Comedy Awards in 2001.
Increased exposure from “The Daily Show” eventually generated a record deal with Stand Up! Records. His first CD, ‘The White Album,’ was released in 2000 to much critical acclaim. Lewis followed with eight more, six under the Comedy Central Records label. He has been graced with 5 Grammy nominations and two wins for his work.
He’s filmed two specials for HBO, “Black On Broadway” and “Red, White and Screwed.” The latter was nominated for an Emmy in 2007. He had a regular feature for two seasons on “Inside the NFL” (for which he earned a Sports Emmy) and in 2006 was honored to be asked to participate in “Comic Relief.”
In his leisure time, Lewis likes to play golf, even though golf hates him.