MANSFIELD — Rock and roll comic Jack Willhite may be not be in an entertainment class by himself. But it certainly doesn’t take long to call the roll.
Willhite brings those comedic classic rock stylings to the Mansfield Playhouse on Friday at 8 p.m. for one show.
Tickets are $15 and are available at the playhouse website to see Willhite bring the humor to more than two dozen rock stars in a 90-minute show, including Prince, Axel Rose, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Mellencamp, Angus Young and more.
“The thing I like about the musical comedy thing that I do is, if I’m not the only one doing this type of act, there would be very few individuals do it just like this,” Willhite said Tuesday. “In fact, they don’t.
“I think I’m the only act in the country that does shows where it’s live guitars and parodies associated with it in the genre that I do. It’s certainly a passion for me and I really dig that.”
There are 10,000 to 15,000 standup comics working around the world. Most of them are monologists — delivering extended, uninterrupted funny stories, jokes and comedy observations.
That is not Willhite. It’s how he began his comedy career 26 years ago. But he has evolved.
“I look at friends who are monologists working out there and I’m like, ‘Man, that’s really, really hard.’ I think it takes them years to develop their own persona and their characters and stuff.
“So maybe I have it a little easier just because I really dig what I do and I think it’s unique,” he said.
Combining comedy and music is a natural blend for Willhite, who played in rock bands and performed in musical theater in high school and sang in chorus in college. That work helped make him comfortable on stage in front of audiences.
“A corporate career path nagged by never getting over a ‘first love’ of comedy and musical theatre in high school led to career as a professional stand up comic and the chance to work in a diverse mix of both film and television productions,” his website states.
Starting as a traditional comic, it didn’t take long for music to begin to bubble up.
“I always did some song parodies, just vocals in the beginning. About 10 years in, I began to ramp it up, brining guitars into the mix and blossomed into a full blown nuts show that I called the rock-and-roll comedy show,” Willhite said.
He said he has “access” to 30 different rock acts at any given time, though not all come out to play during a single show.
“There’s probably 22, maybe 24, at any given time. (Those acts) have certainly changed over the years. Over the last 15 to 20 years, certain characters have come and gone from show depending on their (public) recognition status,” Willhite said.
“I try to be mindful of who I pick. I try to follow the 80/20 rule. I am trying to make it so that 80 percent of any given crowd is going to identify with a particular act,” he said.
The “rock stars” move quickly during the show, according to Willhite, who dubbed himself a “quick change artist.”
“I don’t dive behind a curtain for half an hour to dress up like a particular artist. We’re doing all of this on stage live as we go,” he said.
Willhite said he does most of his writing at home when not touring, but added funny musical ideas can come at any time.
“Inspiration certainly strikes at all points, including on the road. You take down notes and you’re like, ‘Oh, I think this would be fun,’ and this stuff just comes out of the ethereal plane.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s probably a lot like songwriters, inspiration just pops in your head or you hear a song and you go, ‘Oh yeah, that would be great.’ So lots of ideas get created year-round,” he said.
He will work on those songs at his home studio, including backing vocals and guitar parts he needs to include on a track.
“You have to rehearse the hell out of it before it’s really show-worthy,” Willhite said.
“I can actually build these tracks and rehearse these bits and get the costuming ordered and all that stuff and then play around with it before it makes its way into a show,” he said.
He admits there are comics who frown on acts they consider “prop comedy.”
“Whether that’s Carrot Top or whoever that happens to be, I think a lot of purists feel like if you’re just not up there using just the spoken word, how funny can you be?
“But there’s all different types of comedy acts. There are comedy magicians, comedy hypnotists, comedy musical acts, like myself.
“I think probably the hardest is for just a human being to walk on stage just all by themselves with no tricks or gimmicks or musical skills or magic skills and then try to bring an audience into their world.
“To do that for a minimum of an hour if you’re at a typical comedy club, I think that’s a real skill to be able to do that.
“But then again, there’s just a lot that goes into doing what I do.”
