Five hilarious comedians have been called together to combine their mighty morphin comic chops into one towering Megazord with a mic.
The Black Power Rangers Comedy Tour is making a stop at Front Porch Improv and featuring some of the brightest young Black comedians in the southeast for a night of big laughs.
Comedian Wills Maxwell Jr. is the metaphorical Zordon who assembled this tour line-up. Maxwell came up in the Wilmington, N.C., stand-up comedy scene where he hosted the late-night talk show "Late Fear with Wills Maxwell," and appears every Thursday morning on WWAY News with his comedy news segment, "What Did We Miss?" His sharp comedy mixes jokes about race with nerd pop-culture.
“I’ve never put together a tour before,” said Maxwell. “Basically I wanted to get on the road, go to different places, but I also wanted to create the line-up that I never got invited to be on. When we produce shows in North Carolina, a line-up might have one or two people of color, max, and I’ve known so many talented Black comics in North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, just all over. I really wanted to put together my dream line-up. These are people who I ever get to be on a show with, all at once. Now we’re going to get to do a show together and take it town to town.”
Credit: Photo provided
Credit: Photo provided
The line-up includes Jarrod Fortune who began his comedy career in the same Wilmington scene as Maxwell, but is now based in New York City. He’s the co-producer of “Wait On It Comedy,” and he cohosts the “Big Big East Podcast."
“There wasn’t that much around when we were coming up,” Fortune said of comedy spaces for Black comedians. “By the time I showed up in the Wilmington scene, Wills was already three or four years in. I’m brand new to it and immediately I only see three other Black people. That’s it. Thank god we all stood out on our own.”
“It was like a shell game,” Maxwell added. “You couldn’t have all of us on one show at the same time.”
“I’m happy he came to me with the [tour] idea because I was itching to go on tour with some people.” Fortune continued. “That is the best way to get any work done as a stand-up, as a collective if you can.”
The rest of the team includes the raw and charismatic Brandi Roberts from Raleigh, N.C., Cordero Wilson, who is based in New York City, but grew up in small town North Carolina as a self described “biracial nerd,” and Savannah’s own DeShawn Mason who is a regular cast member at Front Porch Improv.
The clever name of the tour reflects several themes of the show including being Black millennials, and a shared love of the geekier side of pop-culture.
“We needed a name and I wanted the name to emphasize the strength of us producing the show ourselves, with an all Black line-up,” explained Maxwell. “It shouldn’t be a novelty, but it kind of is. I wanted the theme to be about Black power, so I was running that in my head over and over again and just hit on Black Power Rangers.
“It kind of fits. It’s an intersection of what we’re doing, the notion of us doing the show together, but also it’s very specific pop culture reference that we all share for our age group and for our subculture.”
Another element that unites the five comics is the common experience of growing up Black in the South.
Credit: Photo provided
Credit: Photo provided
“The southern part of it was another cultural tie that bound us, but what I think our audience is going to notice is that even though we are five comics of the same age, race, and geographical background, we’re five different people and comedians,” said Mazwell. “Everybody’s style is unique. You’re going to hear five unique voices, and that’s another thing that makes me excited to do this.”
“This show’s going to be fun,” Maxwell added. “These are some of the funniest writers I’ve ever met and they’re also, frankly, goofballs. If you’re interested in a good time, if you want to get out of the house and laugh, don’t let anything keep you away from that. Come hang out with us.”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Ultimate Team-up: Black Power Rangers Comedy Tour brings top Black comics to Front Porch Improv
MEET OUR PARTNER
Today’s story comes from our partner, Savannah Morning News. Savannah Morning News provides daily news coverage on Coastal Georgia. Visit them at savannahnow.com or on Twitter @SavannahNow.
If you have any feedback or questions about our partnerships, you can contact Senior Manager of Partnerships Nicole Williams via email at nicole.williams@ajc.com.
The Latest
Featured
