When Tracy Morgan hosted Saturday Night Live in October 2015, the former cast member slowly walked onstage with a straight face and started talking with a lisp. It was a jarring sight—this was one of Morgan’s first performances since he’d been hospitalized in critical condition after a six-car crash in June 2014. But with a charming smile he relaxed and eased back into his familiar persona with a lighthearted, “Nah, I’m just playing. I’m back!”
Is there a difference now in how you approach your set?
It was like going back home to daddy’s house. Nothing like your mom’s home cooking, and that’s what it was. I saw the young cast, they gave it all for me, and I wanted to give it all for them, because they really inspired me. I didn’t do that by myself. I had a cast of young people, and Lorne Michaels, and people I came up with at Saturday Night Live there to support me, and my family was there to support me. That feeling of being back there was awesome.
What other projects do you have coming up outside of your tour?
I make her laugh all the time, and she makes me laugh. She just did a recital last weekend, her first recital, and I just cried the whole recital. I was so proud of her, she worked so hard all year long.
Wed 6/1, 8 PM Civic Opera House 20 N. Upper Wacker26comedy.com $45-$65
