EASTON, Pa. — A two-time Grammy Award-winning comedian known for his angry rants will return to perform at Easton's State Theatre on what he says will be his final tour, it was announced.
Lewis Black, who is known for his cantankerous comedic style and also an author, playwright, social critic and actor, will bring his Goodbye Yeller Brick Road tour to the venue at 8 p.m. Oct. 10.
Tickets, at $49-$99, go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 15, at the State Theatre website or the box office at 453 Northampton St., Easton.State Theatre release
Tickets, at $49-$99, go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 15 at the State Theatre website or the box office at 453 Northampton St., Easton.
The show is the only one listed for Pennsylvania on the tour.
In a release announcing the tour, Lewis said that after more than 35 years as a touring stand-up comedian, he "is parking his tour bus for good next year, marking the end of his legendary world-touring career."
It says he will be "going back to his roots and focusing on writing a new play, penning a new book and expanding his podcast, RantCast, to include live recordings."
'Given me a great joy'
“For a while now I have been letting folks know that I am going to retire from touring," Lewis says in the release. "No one believed me. ‘Why would you retire from touring?’ they asked.
"This is after years of being asked why I was touring, ‘it must be exhausting.’ So, today I am announcing that I am retiring from touring.
"It is a life that has given me great joy and opened a world of possibilities for me. I thought the road would go on forever, well I was wrong about that.
"And the fact is as hard as the road maybe to be on, it’s harder to leave it. I am only retiring from touring."Comedian Lewis Black
"And the fact is as hard as the road maybe to be on, it’s harder to leave it. I am only retiring from touring. It’s time for me to explore other avenues such as writing, reading your rants, and pitching TV shows that will be rejected. (Which is why I know they are good.)
"More importantly I can finally give my Fantasy Football team the focus and time it truly needs. And maybe, just maybe, I can become the professional golfer I was born to be.”
TV specials, CDs and more
Black in 1996 started appearing on the Comedy Central channel’s “The Daily Show” with a rant segment called “Back in Black.”
Since then, he’s had several specials on the Comedy Central Presents series, co-created “Last Laugh with Lewis Black” and presided over Lewis Black’s “The Root of All Evil.”
His popular appearances on Comedy Central helped to win him Best Male Stand-Up at the American Comedy Awards in 2001.
Black has released 11 CDs, and in addition to his two Grammy Awards has had three other nominations for Best Comedy Album.
His HBO TV special “Red, White and Screwed” was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007. He had a regular feature for two seasons on “Inside the NFL” (for which he earned a Sports Emmy).
His latest stand-up special, "Tragically, I Need You," released this year has already surpassed 1.3 million views on YouTube.
Black also played the State Theatre in 2013, and at Sands Bethlehem Event Center, now Wind Creek Event Center, in 2020, 2017 and 2014.
