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Will Durst makes his living skewering politicians and
showcasing the folly and hypocrisy that are rife in party politics. He does
so prolifically through a wide variety of outlets: online, on the radio and
television, in print, and in front of live audiences.
Durst’s driving passion is not to further the
agenda of one party over the other’s. He refers to himself as
“an equal-opportunity offender,” taking swipes at Republicans
and Democrats alike. Nor does he see it as his mission to keep the voting
public informed or to expose injustice. “That might be
underlying,” he says, “but my main purpose is to make people
laugh — on purpose and against their will.”
Durst is a standup comic, and politics is his
straight man. “When I graduated from high school, in the
’70s,” he says, “everybody was into politics —
Vietnam, Watergate . . . it just seemed natural to me.”
That career choice — focusing on governmental
inanity — has worked for Durst. He’s never short of material,
or an audience — especially during an election cycle. “I have a
career every four years for six months” he jokes. Actually, Durst does better than that. He has
appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, Comedy Central, HBO, and Showtime and is a regular
commentator on NPR, CNN, and C-Span. He has performed
at events featuring Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Al Gore. And this July 11 and 12, he is performing in Mason
City. Yes, that Mason City — population 2,800, at the
intersection of Routes 29 and 10 in central Illinois — home to the
Mason City Limits Comedy Club. Durst isn’t the only headliner to include this
out-of-the-way little club, open since March 2006, on his tour. Standup
fans will recognize Tim Cavanagh from Comedy Central; Todd Yohn from HBO,
Showtime Comedy Central, and VH-1; and Mike Armstrong from A League of Their Own, all of
whom have appeared at Mason City Limits. Dak Rakow (Comic Relief 2, MSNBC
with Matt Lauer) is appearing there at the end of July. Mason City Limits is owned and operated by comedian
Chris Speyrer of Dayton, Ohio. A standup performer for 20 years, Speyrer
has performed in 39 states and has appeared on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom Radio Show. In 2004, Speyrer, approaching his 40th birthday,
realized that he was tired of touring the country 40 weeks of the year. He
loved comedy but wanted to settle down. Speyrer dreamed of having his own
comedy club. “I thought about L.A. or New York,” he says,
“but after one week in those places I was ready to get out of Dodge.
I’m more of a Midwest sort of guy.”
Speyrer had a friend from the comedy circuit: John
Means (a.k.a. Dr. Gonzo). Means is a Mason City native, and when he retired
he returned to Mason City and opened first one and then a second
restaurant. Speyrer saw the work Means put in to renovate two of the
town’s older downtown buildings, and the success of the restaurants
(Jack and Jo’s Steakhouse and P.J.’s Pizza and Pasta). A Mason
City booster, Means set out to convince Speyrer that the small Illinois
town was the place for his own new venture.
John’s brother Curt owned the building right
next to the restaurants, Speyrer recalls. “John told me, ‘Hey
we’re about to sell this building. It would be great to have a
showroom right next door to the restaurants.’ I knew what was
possible, because John had done it.”
To be a success, the club would have to draw
customers from outside the community. Speyrer believed that it could
happen. “People say this is the middle of nowhere,” he says of
Mason City. “I correct them: We’re in the middle of everywhere. There’s
Bloomington, Peoria, Springfield, Havana, Pekin . . . . We’ve been
drawing from all those places.”
So how does Mason City Limits book the big talent,
like Durst? “It’s a big help that I’m a
comedian,” Speyrer says. “I’ve done what they’ve
done. I’m not just a club owner. I know what comforts are important.
“When [the comics] get here, they don’t
have to worry about anything. John feeds them at night; I feed them
breakfast. Everything is in walking distance.”
Comics are provided a free place to stay, upstairs
over the comedy club, where Speyrer himself lives. After a show, they may
cross the street to relax at Stupid’s, where — given the state
of politics in Illinois right now — someone like Durst might not have
to buy any of his own drinks.
Connections help Speyrer book talent, too. Having
worked with many of today’s standup comics, he can call them directly
instead of going through a booking agent. Durst remembers working with Speyrer and Means.
“Means was one of the grunts with me in the front line of the comedy
wars in the early ’80s. Chris [Speyrer] came on later, but he was
also fighting that same war. So we’re war buddies.”
Asked how he feels about working a small venue like
Mason City (the club seats about 100 people), Durst says, “I’m
looking forward to it. You can actually talk to the audience more —
you don’t have to give a presentation. There’s a lot less
pressure.”
Of the show he will put on, Durst says, “This
is my George W. Bush farewell tour. Whatever you think of Bush politically,
in comedy terms he was the gold standard. I’m just one little cog in
his No Comic Left Behind program.”
Will Durst performs at Mason City Limits (114 E.
Chestnut, Mason City) at 8 p.m. Friday, July 11, and 7:15 p.m. Saturday,
July 12. Reservations can be made at mclimits.com or by calling
217-482-5233.
Larry Crossett of Lincoln is a frequent contributor.
His profile of Dr. Earl Loschen, “A career in caring,” appeared
in the Jan. 10 issue of Illinois Times.
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 2, 2008.
