Joe Matarese is serious about working out his problems.
But instead of working them out at a therapist's office, he them to the comedy stage.
Matarese, who headlines a fundraiser tonight for, described his act as an honest layout of all of his problems, using his own stories as a vehicle.
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“It’s like the audience is watching therapy at work,” he said. “It’s almost like you’re in the closet during my therapy session.”
The material in his act is always rooted in whatever is going on in his life, and Matarese explained that his jokes and stories tend to evolve as his life changes.
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Being a new dad, his material focuses a lot on being a husband and trying to fix himself so that his son doesn’t “have a dad who’s a mess.”
As of last week, Matarese has even transferred some aspects of his material into a one-man show, titled “Fixing Joe,” which he will take to Los Angeles on Sunday.
“It’s based on a podcast I do about once a week where I talk about how my life has evolved throughout the week,” he said. “And my listeners and guests try to help me.”
After devoting 21 years of his life to stand-up, Matarese said being able to do something as structurally different from stand-up as a one-man show is very rewarding from an audience perspective.
He explained that stand-up crowds tend to freak out a bit when comedians insert something serious into an otherwise joke-filled act.
“But when you’re in a theater and doing a one-man show, you can tell a serious story and maybe get one or no laughs, and it’s OK,” he said. “It’s more like going to see a play.”
He be on E!’s “Chelsea Lately,” where he has become a regular guest, on Wednesday to promote his one-man show.
A Cherry Hill native, Matarese got his stand-up start in Philadelphia and now performs just about every type of comedy gig imaginable, from the clubs to cruises to overseas performance – he will be performing in Israel in June – to fundraisers like tonight’s show.
He said he even sometimes favors fundraisers and similar shows over traditional club gigs.
“With the comedy clubs, you don’t get that emotional connection,” he said. “But when you do a fundraiser and you’re doing something for cancer or something like that, there tends to be more of an emotional feeling behind you being funny.
“It’s more than just making some drunk people have a good laugh.”
Matarese will perform tonight at 1 Night Stand, a comedy show hosted by the Springfield PBA Local #76, at Hotel 304 West. Other comedians include host Kenny Michaels and Andrew Schulz. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the show begins at 8:30 p.m. Admission is $15 in advance and $20 at the door. For information and to purchase tickets in advance, email pbalocal76@gmail.com.
