A pair of American stand-up comedians with prime-time experience are coming to Misawa Air Base in northeastern Japan for one night only. (Pixabay)
A pair of American stand-up comedians with prime-time experience are coming Saturday to Misawa Air Base in northeastern Japan for one night only.
The show’s headliner, Dwayne Perkins, of Brooklyn, N.Y., started performing in 1995. He’s appeared on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and had a regular correspondent’s spot with “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
Perkins credits a missed job opportunity for kick-starting his comedy career.
Comedian Dwayne Perkins has appeared on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and had a regular correspondent’s spot with “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” (Rachel Luna)
“I had a summer job interview with a prominent company, and I was like, ‘Oh, if I get this job, I’ll just go to Seattle and work for a summer and if I don’t, I’ll start doing stand-up this summer,’ and I didn’t get it,” he told Stars and Stripes during a recent Zoom call. “And instead of going to Seattle for a summer, I stayed in New York and started doing comedy.”
Military audiences are nothing new for Perkins, who has performed for the troops in Kosovo, Serbia and Afghanistan. He’s also appeared for the military in Japan at Sasebo Naval Base and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni.
“I think the difference may be that the military crowds seem more appreciative,” he said. “It’s something that gives them a taste of home.”
Audiences can look forward to stories that reflect Perkins’ life experience.
“It is my take on a lot of things that people can relate to and my philosophies, all in a funny way, in a way that that makes sense,” he said. “I try to connect with the audience and make points that other people don’t see.”
The duo’s icebreaker, Anthony DeVito, of Bloomfield, N.J., says he is no relation to the well-known actor Danny DeVito, but has wanted to be a comedian since he was a kid. He started his standup career in 2009.
Anthony DeVito says he is no relation to the higher profile Danny DeVito, but has wanted to be a comedian since he was a kid. (Anthony DeVito)
DeVito has appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Adam DeVine’s House Party” on Comedy Central and in his own Comedy Central special.
He was also a writer for Michelle Wolf, whose 20-minute monologue at the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner was criticized by Trump administration figures, many on the receiving end of the jokes, as harsh and vulgar.
“My mom always exposed me to stand-up,” DeVito recently told Stars and Stripes, also via Zoom. “She was a big fan of George Carlin, and I would just watch a lot of stand-up. I used to watch, like, ‘Def Comedy Jam.’ I was just so impressed by them. And then she took me to go see George Carlin. And that was incredible.”
DeVito’s to-do list for his first trip to Japan includes a baseball game, shopping at Lawson’s convenience store and sampling takoyaki – a ball-shaped snack filled with octopus.
His comedy blends family, relationships, failure and lighthearted self-deprecation.
DeVito’s performing for the first time for a military audience, but has no trepidation.
“They want to see the show,” DeVito said. “I’ll predict that it’ll go a lot better than every Italian restaurant I’ve ever performed for, which is way too many.”
Doors open at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Misawa Club, and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7 for club members and $15 for nonmembers and are available online at memberplanet or at the door.
MISAWA COMEDY
Location: The Misawa Club at Misawa Air Base, Japan
Times: Doors open at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30; shows starts at 7 p.m.
Costs: $7 for club members and $15 for non-members.
Information: Tickets are available online at memberplanet or at the door.
