Country comedian to play Paramount

Rodney Carrington performs Sept. 8 at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora.

Tim Rater, the executive director of the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, is always ready to book an act that might fill a need in the season’s schedule. Country and western comedian Rodney Carrington, who will perform on Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Paramount Theatre, is an example.

“He was not on my radar,” said Rater about deciding to book the R-rated comedian. “But when we found out that he was looking to come to the Chicago area, we pursued it.

“His appearance fits a niche for this season,” Rater continued. “The base of our programming is that we represent all areas. We normally have comedy, so this fits right in.”

As far as Rater knows, Carrington has not played the Chicago area before.

“He has played at The Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, Ind., but not here,” Rater said. “He has played a lot of markets that feature radio’s ‘The Bob & Tom Show,’ but that show is not syndicated in Chicago, so he did not play this area before.”

Carrington is a comedian, actor and writer who has recorded eight comedy albums, selling more than three million copies. Of his CDs, “Morning Wood” has earned gold record certification, and Carrington’s “Greatest Hits” (a double CD), reached platinum status.

Carrington also starred in his own TV sitcom “Rodney,” which was largely based on his own life, which ran for two seasons on ABC. He also co-wrote and co-starred with Toby Keith in the 2008 feature film “Beer for My Horses.” His comedy act typically combines stand-up comedy and original songs. Carrington’s views of life, love and everything that men do wrong have won him millions of fans.

“Carrington’s act is very adult,” Rater said. “When you see his marketing material, with him wearing a cowboy hat and jeans, you think that he is a country-western singer. But it is country comedy with music. Probably 20 percent of his show is actual music.

“He is kind of a unique deal,” Rater continued. “He does some singing in the show, and it is country music, so that is kind of unusual.”

And although Carrington performs an R-rated show, other comedians who have performed at the Paramount have had more adult material, according to Rater.

“We have had adult comedians, like Bob Saget and Brad Garrett, but we have not had an adult comedian in this genre,” Rater said. “We have had much more off-color comedy shows than this one. This is more middle-of-the-road blue humor.”

And Rater is always looking to the future in terms of what acts he might book.

“If he does well, we may try to figure out if someone in the same genre can appear here,” said Rater about Carrington’s country-western comedy and singing. “There are some great comedians out there, but some just do not have the drawing power to fill our theater.”

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