The only thing more high-profile than John Mulaney’s recent rehab stint is his triumphant return to the stage. After falling off the wagon during the pandemic, the comedian checked himself into rehab last December for 60 days. Then, emerging like some clearheaded gopher, he announced his sudden divorce from his wife of six years.
Rocky roads like this often derail entertainers for years. But not Mulaney, who decided to put his entire experience out there in an intimate run at Manhattan’s City Winery in May. Attendees (many of whom were leaving the house recreationally for the first time in a year), were blown away by the performance, and word quickly spread that Mulaney had lit a fire under his own ass. The residency sold out, prompting the comedian to add more dates, which also sold out. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Mulaney has always had a way of turning dark personal moments into comedy gold, building a brand of humor that flicks at the nerve-endings of his own life to make us laugh. But his newest standup routine, which could be defined more as a public unbosoming, ventures away from the typical polish of this SNL alum’s past work to expose the raw flesh underneath. Say hello to bad boy Mulaney.
After all, once you’ve been through very public intervention, why waste time putting on hair gel?
Now Mulaney is taking his new show, titled “From Scratch” on the road – and as the name suggests, the material is as fresh as a morning bagel. Clocking in closer to 90 minutes, Mulaney’s five-city tour takes all of the angst and fear of our collective pandemic experience and throws in a drug-addled backslide, a surprise divorce, and good old-fashioned mental health problems. (We can totes relate.)
Gone is the squeaky clean Kid Gorgeous. But we’re all right with that. We’ve always liked our comedians with a little more edge anyway. We just hope he keeps his new darker shade of white for when the Netflix special drops.
Cover Photo: NBC (Getty Images)
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