John Early's all-inclusive comedy loves Britney, Bette, and throbbing disco

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      By Eva Rasciauskas

      When John Early hits the Vogue tonight for a hot and sweaty stand-up show, expect a barrage of classic disco tracks, endlessly flashing lights, and a full-blown Britney Spears song cover.

      As for Lotusland’s chic population, the New York-based comic’s fashion expectations are high.

      “I really, really expect everyone to turn on a full look,” Early says in a phone interview with the Straight. “You know, this isn’t some casual open mic night. This is a god-damn show!”

      An actor, comedian, writer and producer, Early is best known for starring as Elliot Goss in the HBO series Search Party, his role as Detective Culp in Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Apple series The Afterparty, and executive producing, writing and starring in Netflix's The Characters. His A24 sketch special Would It Kill You To Laugh? is currently in full swing, with Early and co-creator Kate Berlant playing exaggerated versions of themselves.

      His Vancouver appearance will be a more condensed, lo-fi version of his New York comedy show Showgasm. Early will alternate between singing song covers and performing stand-up comedy, with the support of keyboard player Michael Hesslein. 

      “Michael has made these really beautiful, lush tracks that he’ll be playing live along with me singing—it’s kind of a two-man band version of the show I do in New York,” Early says.

      A lover of high-energy disco and late ‘90s and early 2000s music (think Timbaland and Missy Elliot), Early likes to think of himself as part stand-up comic and part party host. While he purposely won’t get into specifics about his Vancouver show, he promises plenty of Studio 54-vintage disco tracks and a Spears cover he’ll sing himself. (For those of you that don’t know, Early has performed some of the best Britney impersonations on TV).   

      “As a comedian and a performer, the goal for me is always disco. I want it to be driving, to be sweaty… I want people to rage,” he says with a laugh.

      “I had a show in this legendary punk venue in San Diego recently and I had so much fun, the crowd was so great. I looked at Michael Hesslein and we were just like, ‘Oh my god.’ We really need to do more shows with a lush, full disco band. With a horn!”

      Early’s stand-up performances are known for being colourful and theatrical. Many of his live shows draw inspiration from iconic actor-comedians like Sandra Bernhard, Jennifer Saunders, Bette Midler, and Mo’Nique.

      His earliest high-profile gigs included appearances in the Tina Fey sitcom 30 Rock and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.

      “Doing Wet Hot American Summer, especially, was a dream come true,” he recalls. “Acting with Amy Poehler and getting to be in that style of comedy with those people was really influential to me. Those are probably the most ‘pinch me’ moments in my career.”

      Early says his approach to comedy has changed since those days, though. “When I first started stand-up, I was a little bit more back on my heels, a little defensive, almost deliberately alienating trying to make these weird, abstract characters without conceptualizing them in a new way. I’m trying to be a little more universal and bring people in.”

      Reflecting on both the nascent stages of his career and what he hopes to achieve in the future, Early stresses how unpredictable success has been. Sometimes, he argues, it’s better to have no plans at all, to keep rolling with the punches.

      “I really learned quite quickly how much your life trajectory is a full joke,” he says. “It never turns out the way you want it to. I’ve done so many cool things in my short career. I’ve been really one of the lucky ones but it’s never gone the way I’ve planned it."

      As he gets older, Early says, “I’ll just keep my head down and continue following my stupid little interest.”

      John Early plays the Vogue tonight (February 13).

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