“In Bloomington, I just want to straight up chill,” he said. “The shows have been off the chain so far.”
“It wasn’t a matter of if Brooks would come, but when he would come,” said Jared Thompson, owner of the Comedy Attic. “The hardest part is convincing the comedians who have preconceived notions about the Midwest to come to Bloomington. Once they’ve performed here, it’s easy to re-book them in the future.”
Thompson said he watched a clip of Wheelan’s stand-up before the actor joined the “Saturday Night Live” cast in 2013. Wheelan’s well thought-out jokes drew him to the comedian.
“He is an extremely gifted stand-up comic, but he is also very good at sketch comedy and improv,” Thompson said. “You would expect him to be more like other comedians his own age, but he’s much more sophisticated.”
Wheelan was added to the Saturday Night Live cast in 2013 but was dropped after one season. After SNL, Wheelan has been working on stand-up and improv acts on a variety of platforms, including TV shows and the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
After seeing Wheelan live at Bonnaroo this year, senior Blair Heidenreich said she is excited to see Wheelan perform. Heidenreich has worked with Midnight Snack Comedy, a student comedy troupe at IU, since her freshman year.
“I love that he’s continuing with his comedy career even though he was recently let go by SNL,” Heidenreich said. “A lot of comedians face a lot of rejection, and I think it’s an amazing inspiration to see someone continue with their passion of comedy.”
Thompson said they show clips of Wheelan’s stand-up before other shows to build excitement for his upcoming performances.
He said Wheelan has an original perspective, especially for a younger person.
“Brooks fits in perfectly to what we do here at the Comedy Attic,” Thompson said. “He gives a snapshot of stand-up around the country, and his stage presence is very unique.”
According to “Ten Places Where Comedy Is King,” a USA Today article published Jan. 11 of this year, the Comedy Attic was named one of the 10 best comedy clubs in the country.
“We’ve put so much time and effort into this place, spending 10 hours a day for three months fixing the place up before it opened,” he said. “It was so humbling to be recognized, and it just makes us want to try harder and to continue moving forward.”
Wheelan performs at 8 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, and 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $8 for students and $12 for general admission and are open to anyone 17 and older. Doors open one hour prior to the start time.
