David Cross returns to Ottawa after a nine-year hiatus for the Canadian leg of his The End of the Beginning of the End stand-up comedy tour at the Bronson Centre Theatre.
From his memorable role as Tobias Funke in Arrested Development to his performances in Mr. Show, David will bring his ever-prevalent satire, sarcasm, and hilariously witty observational humour on March 5.
David’s unique brand of comedy has kept audiences laughing for over thirty years through his stand-up, albums, books, films, and TV. He’s also stepped into the podcast world with his show, Senses Working Overtime, where he talks with other artists on a variety of subjects bringing listeners conversations that are funny, edifying, and real.
David also wrapped up his first appearance on Broadway in Simon Rich’s All in: Comedy About Love a limited-run show with a rotating cast of stage and screen stars who shared short stories with love being the central theme.
We spoke with David about his upcoming show, his first Broadway experience, and his foray into podcasting.
Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Apt613: Hi David, thanks for taking the time to speak with me. How has the tour been so far?
David Cross: It’s been great. I had a bunch of downtime and I’m just getting back into it with these shows in Canada, but I’m curious to see how it’s going to change due to our new circumstances, but we’ll see.
Speaking of material changing from show to show based on your interactions with the crowd and new things happening, how has this show evolved since you’ve been on tour since September, given the tariffs and some things Trump has said?
Well, I haven’t done a show since that stuff came out. I’ve done sets, but I was touring through September, October, November, and December, and then during the holidays I stopped to hang out with family and stuff like that. Then I did this one on Broadway, which finished last week. Now I’m here in LA doing some work for a week and then hitting the road again next week. So those will be the first shows in a month.
So you’ll see how the first show goes, and take it from there?
I mean, I’ll say whatever I’m gonna say — I don’t have written material ready to go about tariffs and turning Canada into the 51st state, but I believe it will come up.
What does the title of the tour mean to you?
What I would always say is I know what it means to me, and it’s not a specific thing. It can have multiple meetings based on how you view it. For me, the beginning of the end was in 2018 when Trump was elected, and now that he’s been re-elected, it’s the end of the beginning of the end. And now it’s just the end.
You mentioned in an ABC interview that stand-up is the one medium that you can’t step away from. Why is that?
That’s not to say I don’t enjoy those other things; I like those other things. But perhaps it’s because stand-up is simple and pure: it’s just me, a microphone, and my thoughts. I can do it pretty much anywhere, I don’t need anyone’s permission, and I don’t need somebody to come up with another idea, and then to fund that idea, and get a production team in place.
As much as I enjoy writing long-form I just haven’t had a worthwhile idea in a couple of years, really or I’d be doing that I think. Bob Odenkirk and I came up with a couple of different things that we went around and pitched, and nobody was interested. So there’s always stand up, and I can do — and probably will do it — until I’m physically or mentally unable to do it.
It’s like immediate gratification and it’s live. I can interact with an audience and as cool as those other things are, they just don’t have that aspect of it.
You mentioned that you just got back from the Broadway show. How was the experience of your first first show on Broadway?
Oh man, it was great. I didn’t really know what to expect. Well, I kind of had an idea, but it was no sweat. It was so much fun, and the rest of the cast was great. I’m really used to performing live, so that wasn’t scary or terrifying or anything, it was really fun. I enjoyed it. After the third performance, I was going home, and I was like, “Man, this is like the best job in the world.”
Do you see a David Cross Broadway show on the horizon?
Well, I would certainly do something again, for sure, depending on the material. Although I don’t think there’s a one-man musical show in my future.
I’ve been listening to your podcast and you seem to be having a lot of fun doing it. What led you to start doing it, and do you have any upcoming guests you’re excited to speak with?
I got into it — I wouldn’t want to say reluctantly — but I’d been asked by my managers and agents, “You’ve got to do a podcast, everybody does a podcast,” and I just didn’t have the interest in that, not for any negative reason, I just didn’t care. And then I started doing other people’s podcasts when I would be promoting things, and I really enjoyed sitting down to have discussions with interesting, smart, fun people and then I thought, yeah, I’ll do it. And really, that’s how it came about.
It’s also a way to promote myself that’s not on social media or wherever, and it’s an enjoyable thing to do. I did talk to Brian Posehn yesterday, Paul Tompkins, two ex-Mr. Show guys, and when I get off the phone with you, I’m recording with Kristen Schaal, Tig Notaro, and Jaqueline Novak, and it’s been really fun.
Has any of the podcasting you’ve done influenced the show in particular?
No, but I think that’s just because my head is in conversation mode, and I never listen to them after I record them. So if I come up with some funny idea, I’ve forgotten it already.
Getting back to the show here in Ottawa, is there anything specific that fans here in Ottawa will have to look forward to in the upcoming show?
These will be my first Canadian shows since Donald Trump has taken office. So as I said, I’m sure that the topic will come up, but outside of that, it’s the set I’ve been doing for the most part. I believe it will be close to my 50th show at this point, so that material is pretty solid. I’ve got it all down, and I’ll play around within it, but it’s a fun set.
It’s probably the least political hour and 15 minutes I’ve done — it just turned out that way, but maybe that’ll be a little less so as time goes on and I do more shows, but we’ll see.
David Cross’s The End of the Beginning of the End comes to the Bronson Centre Theatre (211 Bronson Ave.) on Wednesday, March 5, and is wheelchair accessible. Doors open at 7 pm, and tickets are $49.50 can be purchased directly from their site.
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