WGN’s Pat Tomasulo will perform in Grayslake

Popular WGN Morning News host and stand-up comedian Pat Tomasulo will be making his first trip to Grayslake.

The Chicago celebrity will perform a stand-up night at the James Lumber Performing Arts Center at Lake County College in Grayslake on January 27 at 8 p.m.

Tomasulo had been working as a stand-up comedian for years, as well as co-host of WGN’s Morning News. The hour-long comedy special, “What a Time to Be Alive,” debuts in 2022 and is available to watch on YouTube.

“Pretty much a brand new watch from the special. “There may be a joke or two left over from the special, but it’s almost all new material,” he said.

“This is definitely not the same type of humor you see on TV; I think there are no restrictions on stage that I would face on television. It’s more of a souped-up version of what you’re used to seeing. I’m sarcastic, I’m observational, I talk about my life, I talk about the world.

Despite his fine career in television journalism, Tomasulo felt a calling.

“I think I always had this false self-confidence when I was younger, watching stand-up comedians and thinking, ‘Oh, I could do that.’ But I had no idea how to do it,” he said.

“There were no comedy clubs where I grew up. So I was the first person in my family to go to college. So the idea of ​​becoming a comedian came to my mind; “I had no idea how to do this.”

He came to Chicago in 2005 and started working at WGN. Some of her collaborators, such as Mike Toomey and Ana Belaval, are also comedians. Maybe he got a sign that he too could do this.

“There’s got to be something a little bit wrong with you to want to do that. Because you’re so bad in the beginning,” he said. “You bomb all the time. Even if you’re good, you’re still pretty terrible when you start. Even now when I go out on new material nights, 40% of it works at best.”

“But I’ve been doing this so long now that I don’t care about the bombing. It doesn’t affect you anymore. That’s why you have so much stage time. Obviously you need to get on stage to get comfortable, but you also need to have a lot of stage time to get used to bombing.

People should get out because even though it’s cold outside, it’s not a late show.

“You’re going to laugh a lot. I’m going to look great — I bought a new windbreaker to wear for the people of Grayslake because they deserve it,” he said. “I’m excited. I’m always excited to work in new areas. It’s going to be amazing and I’m going to have a lot of new things and like I said, I’m going to look amazing.”

Even Tomasulo

When: 20:00 27 January

Where: James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts, Lake County College, 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake

Tickets: $15-$35

Information: 847-543-2300; jlcenter.clcillinois.edu

Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.