Review by Harry Kaplan

This is my first review of a comedian. I realize this doesn’t fall in the format of country music, or music of any kind. I am compelled to write a review for a couple of reasons: 1) Lewis Black is hysterical and it was a wonderful evening. 2) This was a benefit for two worthy charities, Pathfinders for Autism and The Maryland Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I don’t want to lose focus of what the purpose of this great event was, to raise awareness and resources for two very important causes. More about the sponsors a little later….

Lewis was his usual, angry, curmudgeonly, yet lovable self. I learned some things that I did not know. For one thing, Lewis was raised in Silver Spring, MD, about 40 miles from me. I had always assumed that he was from Chicago, as I thought I detected a Midwestern accent. Clearly, I was way off base. Lewis also mentioned his parents quite prominently. His father passed away early this year at 100 years of age and his mother is 101 and lives about a mile from me. I am Lewis Black’s mother’s neighbor.

His stand up routine was extremely high energy and very entertaining. He broached subjects such as 2 day free shipping, chicken tenders vs chicken nuggets, Democrats vs Republicans, and of course he spent some time talking about our current president, although he never mentioned him by name. Everyone still knew that he was referring to the”prez”. I caught myself more than once really laughing out loud. And of course, the show had plenty of expletives and some blue humor, but those were only the side dishes. The main course was filled with thought provoking comedy that was side splittingly funny. 

One very poignant fact that Lewis made really resonated with me. He was speaking about the state of the US economy and how some are saying that, “The economy is doing better than it ever had”.  Lewis explained that if the economy was as great as purported, there wouldn’t really be any need for fund raisers. While that point may seem a little extreme, there is a lot of truth to it. It seems that the “great economy” is exclusive to politicians and the wealthy. 

At the end of his performance, Lewis mentioned both charities that sponsored the event and really hammered home that giving back and community service, in any form, is the right thing to do. I couldn’t agree more and Lewis got me thinking about that very subject. I could do more with my free time to help others in need. And after seeing Lewis Black, I am going to make it a commitment!

How to support Pathfinders for Autism

How to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation