There’s nothing like chilling out at a baseball game on a warm July evening. For baseball fan Lenny Schmidt, it was a near-perfect evening at Comiskey Park, where he was watching his favorite, first-place, team.
“I’ve been a White Sox fan forever, man,” Schmidt said. “It’s great to come to a game now, because I’ve been coming for years, and this stadium has [stunk] for four straight years, man. No energy.”
All that has changed since the Sox have been in first place in the American League Central Division, and fans have been flocking to cheer them on. On this night, the Sox were playing the St. Louis Cardinals in a matchup of first place squads.
Schmidt, who was born in Chicago, lives in Los Angeles these days. Enjoying a Sox game was cool for him, seeing as though “the Dodgers are extremely boring,” he joked.
One of the thrills was attending Comiskey, a ballpark that “has grown on me … it’s really cool, unless you’re upstairs” sitting in the dizzying upper deck.
Of course, there are downsides.
“I can’t believe people get so excited over the computerized ball-under-the-hat game,” Schmidt noted of a game on the Sox scoreboard, where people played along by trying to guess which of three hats concealed a baseball.
Because Schmidt is a comic, and he was at a sporting event, talk turned to Dennis Miller being inserted in the broadcast booth as a commentator for ABC’s “Monday Night Football” this fall. Some in sports circles have complained about the selection, but Schmidt thinks the caustic comic is “going to do great.”
“Dennis is really funny, really quick, and he’s really intelligent. And if they give him the opportunity, Dennis is going to do very well.”
Schmidt admitted the problem some viewers may have with Miller’s habit of using obscure references that if you know them, they’re a scream, but if not. . . .
“Sometimes Dennis is over some people’s head,” Schmidt said. “He’s going to be himself and do what he wants to do, but you know what? The guy knows a lot about football, and he knows a lot about sports. And he’s going to focus on the game; he’s not going to go off and do 10 minutes of stand-up.”
Schmidt, a comic for 13 years, loved seeing the Sox but didn’t love how they were doing on this night — the Cards were soundly beating them. This and another game would be the only ones Schmidt would be able to see all season.
That was be all right, in its own weird way, because Schmidt is busy with a combination of acting gigs and stand-up dates.
“I don’t do much road work anymore. I go out for three or four weeks, and then I’m home for three or four months,” said Schmidt, 35, who is in the middle of a two-week headlining engagement at Zanies’ comedy club in St. Charles.
Since moving out to Los Angeles a little more than a year ago, Schmidt has been acting more. He’s doing some additional stand-up work lately, however, “because the commercial strike [by actors against advertising agencies] has kind of slowed us down a little bit.”
Schmidt just finished a part in “The Adventures of Joe Dirt,” a movie starring David Spade and executive-produced by Adam Sandler. Schmidt worked on a short film that was written by ex-Chicago comics Steve Seagren and Al Altur, directed by Altur, and that features a slew of former Chicago stand-ups, including Seagren, Jimmy Pardo, Ted Lyde, Schmidt’s brother Michael and Mike Lukas. Schmidt has added three commercials since his move to his resume of about 15 spots.
“Career-wise it was a great move,” Schmidt said. “Personally, I miss Chicago tremendously. Both my wife and I do. In fact, the more time we spend coming home here, the more we realize how much we miss it. But business-wise I’ve done a lot in a year in L.A.”
Schmidt may be making a living as an actor, but his heart is still rooted in stand-up, with an act consisting of first-person observational storytelling.
“I try to take things that make me angry as a person, or things that I notice and situations where I lose my temper, and explain them onstage so people can see the humor in it. Because that’s the way I deal with anger and frustration,” he added, “I just make fun of it.”
As Schmidt saw the Cardinals rout his Sox, he noted he doesn’t do a lot of sports material in his act…except when he’s in Chicago.
“I like,” he said with a devilish grin, “to harass the Cubs fans.”
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Lenny Schmidt headlines Zanies at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles this weekend and July 27-29; for showtimes and reservations, call 630-513-1761.
The stand-up lineup
Here’s who’s working the scene. Current sets are scheduled to run through Saturday; all new acts begin on Thursday unless otherwise noted. Lineups are subject to change.
– Bob Jay is the headliner Friday and Saturday, with a special guest performance by Jerry Wolski, at Comedy Comedy (3000 Warrenville Rd. in the Radisson Hotel Lisle-Naperville in Lisle; call 630-226-9700).
– At Bill Brady’s Barrel of Laughs this weekend (10345 S. Central Ave., Oak Lawn, 708-499-2969) is Rex Havens, along with Paul Frisbee.
– Tony Boswell headlines Friday and Saturday, with backup laughs provided by T.R. Benker and the comic known as Meechie, at Riddles Comedy Club (15750 S. Harlem Ave.-Continental Shopping Center, Orland Park; 708-444-0234).
– The Idiot Box Comedy Theatre is serving up stand-up and improv on Fridays, and the Latino sketch comedy group Salsation on Saturdays. Check it out at 1937 S. Halsted St.; call 312-719-6851.
– Happy birthday to Carl Kozlowski, the co-founder of Chicago Comedy Works. To celebrate, the comic takes the stage Sunday for CCW’s weekly showcase with Tim Joyce, Susanna Lee, John Roy and others. The show will be at the Elbo Room, 2871 N. Lincoln Ave.; call 773-549-5549.
– Returning home for a special appearance at Zanies’ Chicago comedy club is Steve Seagren, who is making a name for himself in Los Angeles. Zanies is located at 1548 N. Wells St.; call 312-337-4027.
– Second City is spending the summer at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights. The comedy troupes’ national touring company rotates three different groups at the theater, performing 40 years’ worth of Second City sketches, new material and improv Thursdays through Sundays through Sept. 3. The Metropolis is at 111 W. Campbell St. in Arlington Heights; call 847-577-2121.