Comedian Joe Dombrowski has brought his standup act to the Windy City and judging from the first night, he is making the yuletide even gayer.
Hailing from Detroit, this queer funnyman launched into fame after the popularity of a viral video where he played an April Fools’ Day prank on students with a spelling test. He taught elementary school for 10 years and discovered plenty of material over time to play off of onstage. Throughout his show, he calls out bad behaviors from previous pupils and mixes in hilarious impersonations of them along the way.
His recent comedy special Don’t Eat the Crayons on YouTube reflects his school ties and last month’s hosting gig at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles continues that routine.
Tim Murray is the opening act for Dombrowski and also identifies as queer. His talents lie with improvisational singing and riffing off of random audience members. The ambiguously gay duo tag team the unsuspecting crowd in surprising ways with a unique show every night. To enhance this touring project further a comedy special is set to film for the rest of Dombrowski’s run in Chicago.
He spoke to Windy City Times backstage before his opening night set.
Windy City Times: Let’s start off with your history.
Joe Dombrowsky: I’m an open book!
WCT: Where did you grow up?
JD: Detroit, Michigan. I grew up with a big comedic family, so I watched comedy at a young age. I lived here in Chicago for a bit and now I live in Seattle, Washington.
WCT: You record your podcast in Seattle?
JD: Yes, but I am still a Midwest boy through and through so I have beer for blood!
WCT: Do you have free time while you are in Chicago?
JD: I do and I have family here. My uncle owns Lark Restaurant in Lakeview and I am staying with him. We are very close and he is also of homosexual descent so he raised me. When I lived here I was a block and a half away from his bar, which was dangerous. I would go grab a bottle of wine from him and meet my friends at the lake until the sun went down. It’s nostalgic being back here and I’m glad at the same time to be in Illinois.
WCT: Doesn’t Lark have the same owners as Kit Kat Lounge?
JD: Yes, they are partners and those are my uncles as well, although no blood relation.
WCT: Oh your chosen family then. Didn’t you start performing at a young age?
JD: Yes, my first set was in third grade at a talent show. I did standup where I stole all the jokes from the magician at my first communion.
WCT: Did the jokes all land the right way?
JD: They all worked! [laughs]
WCT: I remember Joan Rivers told me once that all comedians steal from each other.
JD: Now I know it was full joke thieving, but parallel thought is a common thing in the comedy world.
WCT: Do you remember one joke from that set?
JD: I asked everyone in the audience if they liked ice cream and they had to raise their hands if they did. I asked people who liked pancakes to raise their hands and then very quickly I asked if anyone liked spankings and to raise their hands. Some of them still had their hands up and I will never forget it, because in that moment I learned timing.
You will see in my show that I do a lot of catching people off guard with my sharp tongue.
WCT: You could ask the crowd out there if they like ice cream.
JD: Well, my material has grown since then.
WCT: You have evolved. Is there a comedian that you have admired or looked up to in the past?
JD: My full circle moment was because I always idolized Ellen DeGeneres and her comedy special was the first one I ever watched all the way through. When she was on the Time magazine cover with the words “Yep, I’m Gay” it was the first time I put a name to the emotions I had always felt. I was tracking her career before I came out and then many moons later Ellen gave me a big boost in the industry. That was insane, and I owe a lot of my success to her taking a chance on me.
I love women in comedy more than anything. I saw Kathy Griffin when I was nine years old at Disney World and I was drawn to the fact of her telling stories about her life in Hollywood. Joan Rivers obviously, but also modern women such as Beth Stelling, who lived here as well. I love her writing and she’s lightning in a bottle onstage.
Being gay I connect with the struggle of a woman in comedy too, because it’s the same for any LGBTQIA person trying to make a name for themselves. It’s an incredibly macho male-dominated industry.
WCT: What hot topics are you covering in this show?
JD: I have two major themes all revolving around children. I was an elementary school teacher for 10 years and in this show, I talk about teaching kindergarten.
I talk about the politics of being LGBT in education and what is going on around the country with that. I poke fun at legislation that is off-the-wall bonkers.
I am in the realm of having children with my husband and we are on a baby journey right now. I opened up about that, what our surrogacy plans are, baby names and my crazy mother’s reaction to all of this. It’s a well-rounded bit that I put together and I am very proud of it.
WCT: I’m an adopted kid.
JD: Great, but we are making ours in a test tube! [laughs] I thought it would just be about my experience, but what I didn’t expect was to connect with so many people who have gone through in vitro fertilization for any situation. A lot of LGBT families have talked to me about using IVF to start their families and described it as the hardest part of their lives. They are usually in disbelief that they are laughing about it at my shows. That is the definition of catharsis and that’s my reward!
WCT: Do you think queer history will ever be taught in [all] schools?
JD: I don’t think it’s a topic that needs to be in a set curriculum. The way kids will learn is when this country accepts that people will be people of all types working in the classroom if they have a drive to teach.
If the person happens to be gay, trans or anything then they are just being themselves in the classroom and they don’t have to come out to the students necessarily.
It’s about being authentic, not having a target on your back and not being afraid of who you are in the classroom. If someone teaching puts a framed picture out on their desk of their partner then kids will see it, like I did with a picture of my husband. Being real is important and classrooms are windows to the world around them including diversity.
WCT: I love that comparison.
JD: I was never afraid to be myself in the classroom and now I have past students write me about their coming out or transitioning later in life. They sometimes thank me for being who I was in the classroom, but I did it because I wanted them to be themselves too.
WCT: What are your thoughts on television shows like Abbott Elementary and English Teacher?
JD: Abbott I love but cannot watch because it is so real and gives me PTSD flashbacks. English Teacher is a story that needed to be told for years and I can’t wait to be on it! I am putting that out into the world.
WCT: I am jealous that you went to the Casa Bonita restaurant.
JD: It was cool to do a Denver staple with a South Park cult following. Taking the experience and putting it right onstage was fun.
WCT: So you have 1 million followers on Instagram.
JD: It’s 1.1 actually.
WCT: Pardon me, [both laugh] How did you build up your following?
JD: That audience comes from personality. I doubled down on the jokes and being funny. I don’t do things to gain followers specifically, so this was built over time.
Once The Ellen DeGeneres Show started to snowball I had a backlog of stuff. I had 45 minutes of material at the time and wanted to get it out for there for people to consume.
Being a comedian is capitalizing on who you are innately. To just shoot a video on your phone and put it out there for people to like it was a dream!
WCT: Is your podcast Social Studies going well?
JD: It’s unbelievable that I have a job where I can sit in a room with a computer and chit-chat with my friends for an hour every week.
WCT: You seem very grateful for your success.
JD: I am grateful for that and my fans. I will see other comedians complaining about their fans and my stance is that we are nothing without them. Every night I go out and can’t believe that this many people gave up their night and spent money to hear me talk for an hour. I will never not be grateful for that!
Dombrowski dips into The Den, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave, on the Heath MainStage until Dec. 7 with two shows each night. For tickets, please visit thedentheatre.com and follow him at thejoedombrowski.com.