Log In


Reset Password
Performing Arts

Hey, you! You just might learn something

Quinn’s ‘Unconstitutional’ is part history, part hysterical
Colin Quinn finds humor in our most sacred document in his latest comedic routine, “Unconstitutional.”

Sometimes all you need is a break, and Colin Quinn got his in 1987 when MTV picked the stand-up comedian for a new game show called “Remote Control.”

“Here I thought they liked my comedy, but I didn’t even get it for my comedy,” he said last week from his midtown Manhattan home. “They liked my voice. They were mocking my vocal ability for having the worst announcer voice ever.”

Quinn’s gruff and raspy Brooklyn delivery has been his comedic signature ever since, and he’ll take the stage Thursday night at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. His latest touring show is called “Unconstitutional.” It is the perfect vehicle for him to show off his wit and wisdom. It’s the most recent example of his penchant for finding humor in both history and current events. His background would never lead one to suspect him of such talent after just a year of college three decades ago.

“I was never a real student or (cared much),” he said. “When I was 19, people were in poli-sci, and I didn’t know what that was. I can’t do a political science show, but I do more like the psychology and the effect that’s had on our behavior. The way the Quran affects Arabs or the Catholic Church affects all Irish people, that’s how the Constitution is with us. It’s very psychological.”

No one would ever confuse Quinn with a family-friendly comedian, but neither should we expect an hour of dirty jokes. He uses profanity like many of us well-meaning East Coasters; a bit of spice here and there, but his f-bombs serve more as conjunctions and adjectives than expletives. The bottom line is, he’s smart, he’s funny and puts on a great show.

An accomplished screenwriter and actor, Quinn wrote and appeared on “Saturday Night Live” for five years in the late ‘90s, including a stint on the coveted “Weekend Update” desk before launching his own current-events program on Comedy Central, “Tough Crowd.” He plans to continue the tour for another couple of months before filming the finale for television in front of Constitution Hall in Philadelphia.

ted@durangoherald.com

If you go

Colin Quinn will perform “Unconstitutional” at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. Tickets cost $28 for orchestra and balcony/$34 for plaza level seating, available by phone at 247-7657, online at www.durangoconcerts.com or at the downtown Welcome Center at Eighth Street and Main Avenue.



Reader Comments