Jeff Cesario’s comedy résumé includes Emmy Awards, voice work for a Pick ‘n Save shopping bag, and silver-screen performances alongside the likes of Mariel Hemingway and some guy called Charlie Sheen.
Jeff is a Packers fan from Kenosha who has been on Letterman, Leno, and Conan. And on Saturday, April 9, he performs at Milwaukee’s historic Pabst Theater for the second night of Dave & Carole’s Comedy-Palooza – a fundraiser for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
In advance of that, Jeff was gracious enough to relent to an interview.
MilwaukeeComedy: What sorts of peculiar thrills or challenges are there in coming home to perform?
Jeff Cesario: “How many other comedians could answer this with, ‘I may get the chance to stop by the state capitol for a quick demonstration march.’
Jeff Cesario: “How many other comedians could answer this with, ‘I may get the chance to stop by the state capitol for a quick demonstration march.’
“Maybe the biggest challenge is not over-eating. There’s so much good food and you want to remind your system what good Wisconsin food is, so you eat ridiculous amounts of it. And by ‘you,’ I mean me.
“No wait, the biggest challenge would be not over-drinking. Buying a beer for someone is like a handshake in Wisconsin. And I don’t hold my liquor well, but let me quote the great Richard Lewis, who had chest pains on this very Pabst Theater stage and responded by saying, ‘Don’t worry, it will be good for the show.'”
MilwaukeeComedy: How does a venue closer to home affect the material you prepare?
Jeff Cesario: “I just keep cutting material based on people I know to avoid embarrassment or physical harm. That leaves me about 13 minutes plus my hockey chunk, and then I work the crowd.
“I would like to close by saying if it’s at all possible I’d like stand with the Wisconsin 14 while sitting at a Culver’s eating custard.”
Click here to learn more about tickets for Dave & Carole’s Comedy-Palooza. Because you can help sick kids while laughing. That’s why.