Maria Bamford/Photo: Robyn Von Swank
America is in the middle of a mental health crisis. With millions of Americans afflicted with everything from OCD and bipolar disorder to ADD and schizophrenia plus everything in between, the nation could sure use a laugh about it all.
For the past thirty-five years, comedian Maria Bamford has been the guiding light to making hilarity out of that hellishness, putting her own battles with OCD front and center in a career that has seen her find success in TV series (including the late great Netflix series “Lady Dynamite”), online web series like “Noooo-CD!,” nine albums and specials, and even the best-selling memoir “Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere.”
Bamford will bring the healing power of laughter to Chicagoans from December 12-14 when she plays four shows at The Den Theatre. Coming off a tough election season, the proudly progressive performer will also showcase her amazing knack for making sharp points hidden under a surface of ridiculousness.
“This is my first tour since my parents passed, so I’ll be talking about death, mental illness and the surprisingly emotional issues around money that affect us all,” says Bamford, via Zoom prior to a show in Burbank, California. “I try to make myself laugh first, then if somebody else laughs, that’s great. I also try to say things that are meaningful to me, and I definitely have a point of view.
“On this tour from now in perpetuity, I’m going to have some element of my shows benefit a local charity at each stop, whether that’s like an LGBTQ+-focused charity or access to abortion charity. It’s now about bringing everything together in a way that makes an impact.”
Bamford grew up in Minnesota, where she began doing stand-up at age nineteen after a childhood in which her parents encouraged her to play violin and act onstage while it became home to her. She also developed an amazing array of character voices and impressions during that time, a skill that not only makes her manic, wildly surreal performances crackle with comedic energy, but also inspired a highly successful career in voiceover work in countless cartoons.
With her act a series of rapid-fire monologues and skits that fly from one point to another without transition, audiences are guaranteed never to see the same show twice. And she has some solid insights for non-comics to deal with the travails of mental maladies.
“Number one, I want to acknowledge that sometimes you feel so bad or so ill that being humorous is just not in your wheelhouse. I know, when I was being hospitalized, there’s just no way I was not in a place to feel really anything beyond the desperate present,” explains Bamford. “So with compassion for that, try to give yourself permission that if you find any parts of it funny, to find safe people to share those with, because there are people out there who laugh along with you.
“All parts of life can be funny, and psychiatric hospitals are especially hilarious. They’re just trying to help, and yet they’re very limited, and they’re really quite crazy when you get involved with some of the treatment programs. Letting yourself go with laughter truly lets go of the sad stuff.”
Maria Bamford performs December 12-14 at The Den Theatre, 1331 North Milwaukee. Tickets are $22-$67, available at thedentheatre.com or by calling (773)697-3830.
