Fresh off the heels of the famed Shaq Comedy Tour with fellow comedians Deray Davis, DL Hughley and Tommy Davidson, the seemingly mild mannered Gary Owen is definitely riding a wave of success.

Comedian Gary Owen comes to the Improv

By BAKARI SIMPSON

Contributing Writer

As youngsters many people find it arduous to find their own personal style and identity in this fast paced world. As a result, a great many folks result to faking the funk as it were and acting in a manner that violates their natural nature.  And this is exactly why when you run into an honestly genuine person, who just happens to also be genuinely funny, it’s a refreshing experience.  Comedian Gary Owen will provide such an experience when he brings his wildly hilarious antics to the Improv this Thursday, March 15 through Sunday, March 18.

Fresh off the heels of the famed Shaq Comedy Tour with fellow comedians Deray Davis, DL Hughley and Tommy Davidson, the seemingly mild mannered Gary Owen is definitely riding a wave of success.  He recently taped a comedy special that is currently on sale at Wal-mart titled “True Story.” and will air on Showtime in April. Aside from the comedy special, Owens is involved with a number of movie projects, all of which he is very excited about.

First he has his stoner comedy that one would put in the bin with the likes of “Half Baked” and “Up in Smoke” titled “Hillbilly Highway” – which will also be released this April on DVD.  And as if this April wasn’t jam-packed enough, the thing that has Gary the most elated is his role in Cleveland’s own Steve Harvey’s book-based film called “Think like a Man” – also due in April.  This feature has a virtual laundry list of top Black personalities such as Megan Good, Gabrielle Union, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Hart and Morris Chestnut, just to scratch the surface.

“Everyone is going to know about this one, we had the premiere two weeks ago and that is going so good, it’s going to be in the mold of ‘Soul Food,’ ‘Love Jones,’ ‘Love and Basketball’ were everyone will see it, in a couple years, everyone will have seen that movie, it’ll be the one on TNT and TBS, know what I mean?  And it’s so good because it’s a predominately Black cast but race never comes up in the relationship, never.”

Right now the stars are lining up for Gary in a really good way, touring, movies and other ventures are coming his way and for well deserved reasons.  If you want to get more information on Owen or follow his amazing comedy more closely you can find him at GaryOwen.com, Gary Owen on Facebook and @GaryOwencomedy on Twitter.

And for those who are coming out to see him, Owen had this to say to the folks that will be in the house this weekend.  “I’m a humble guy you know, Cleveland is one of those cities that you can ask any comic, they always come to laugh. I’ve never had a comic say he had a bad time at a Cleveland show.”

For tickets and show times, call 216.696.IMPROV or visit the Improv box office in the Sugar Factory on the West Bank of the Flats.