A Wayne Brady Wake Up Call

A Wayne Brady Wake Up Call

Would I love a phone call from Wayne Brady to be as much a part of my average morning as a cup of tea? Definitely. However, there are many reasons why it’s unlikely that fantasy will ever come to fruition – the most important of which being that there is nothing average about a morning spent chatting with one of today’s most talented and versatile performers. Hitting the stage as entertainment headliner for CWU Homecoming Week, Brady will perform Friday, Oct. 11 at 9 p.m. in the SURC Ballroom. As fast as Brady can poke fun at his interviewer tickets are selling out, so get them today at www.cwu.edu/tickets.

Brady is known for his myriad talents: comedy, acting, singing, dancing, improv, you name it. With that in mind, I was curious to know what we can expect from him at his show. The best advice I can give attendees is to expect the unexpected.

I asked if he scripts his stand up routines, and he good-naturedly set me straight by explaining, “It will probably be all improv, right from the time I walk on stage to the time I walk off. I do a lot of audience interaction, which is great at universities because the audience is often more raucous than at a regular theatre. I’ll do musical improv too, people in the audience can write an idea for a song on a piece of paper and pass it up and I’ll come up with something.”

Naturally, I took this explanation as an invitation to request a song. No such luck. Brady rebuffed me with a laugh, and I let him get away without singing what he called a “blog song” for two reasons: one because it was 8:30 in the morning and some of us can barely speak by then and two because it would be a little like peeking at your Christmas presents. Enjoying a live serenade will be that much sweeter if we wait until his show.

 Although I don’t have a Brady original song to share, I can tell you that his is a great brain to pick for Halloween costume ideas. Wouldn’t you have asked Wayne Brady what he’s going to be for Halloween? His best costume to date – Beyonce.

 “My daughter wanted to be Beyonce, but she didn’t want to be her by herself so she was baby Beyonce and I was big Beyonce. And yes, we carried around a boom box trick-or-treating and did the ‘Single Ladies’ dance. I hope that if Beyonce knew I did that she would give me a high-five. She’s awesome.”

 This anecdote led me to inquire which other performers Brady admires, whether or not he’s ever dressed up as them for Halloween.

“I admire performers like Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams. I got interested in performing because I watched old black and white movies on TBS when I was a kid. I wanted to be like Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra, I wanted to have that kind of versatility of talent,” he commented.

With the success that Brady has had, I’m sure that Sinatra would be honored to know he was Brady’s first inspiration. From “Whose Line is it Anyway?” and “How I Met Your Mother” to shows on Broadway and in Las Vegas, Brady has proven himself as a star.

He told me that with every performance he hopes to “blow the doors open and the roof off.” Fair warning to his audience – hold onto your hats.