May 8, 2003

At 48, you could say comedian and actor John McGivern has had nine lives, though that might be a conservative estimate. On stage, he exposes his true-life roles as East Side city boy, gay seminarian, near Franciscan brother, award-winning stand-up comedian and theater actor, substance abuser, intervention beneficiary, waiter, radio show personality. The list goes on. A sure-footed McGivern thrives where others fail.

 Take, for example, his one-man show at the Cedarburg Performing Arts Center which he performs to a sold-out hall with a 200-plus waiting list. His storytelling defies convention. A conservative Ozaukee County audience devours his comic routine, one based on life experience. As he struts the stage vacillating between his own masculine persona and that of the American stereotypical gay man – limp wristed, mincing pace, sibilant use of consonants – the auditorium swells with laughter. Even as he simulates coitus interuptus between two Catholic parents, the audience howls.

 McGivern is highly recognizable for his role as Tony, the excitable hairdresser in the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s production of Shear Madness. But he feels his one-man routine, which he has performed on Comedy Central and other venues throughout the country, says more about who he is than his roles as an actor or producer.

 “I don’t know that my one-person shows are so removed from who I am,” McGivern says while sitting in his Milwaukee condo, his permanent residence since 2001, and so close to his Bartlett Street boyhood home. “It’s about me speaking about my history and my past. I accept the role of being the gay guy.” 

McGivern promotes himself as the hometown boy comic. And by all appearances, the public can’t get enough of him. He is viewed by many as a gay-tolerance door-opener, although some in the gay community say they believe he just furthers stereotypes of gay men.

 A practicing Catholic, he says he walks a fine line between acceptance and regret over his over his sexuality possibly leading to overcompensation in his flamboyant performance style. But McGivern is comfortable with his public image, which has included regular appearances on WKLH’s Dave and Carole morning spots for the past 10 years. “No one’s ever called and said , ‘Get the fag off the air,’” he says. “People have supported me throughout that radio show and I think I’ve been a catalyst for some sort of acceptance and change. I hope to have.”

 McGivern zips through his siblings’ names – Jim, Tim, Colleen, Michael and Maureen – like a good Irish Catholic boy including them in prayer. His family is the fiber from which McGivern has woven his comedic storytelling, with humorous tales such as the beloved family misfit destined early for priesthood because of his lack of macho. His delivery is celebratory, not self-pitying, but takes on a serious tone with sensitive issues like being asked his name by his boyhood pastor in a Catholic confessional or his fall from grace through drug and alcohol addiction from, which he was saved by family intervention 13 years ago.

Those close to him agree he’ll reenact anything he’s observed for his comedy repertoire if he thinks it’ll get a laugh. “I think there’s a fine line and sometimes I cross that,” says McGivern. “And my mother will deal with that. Mom will call and say, ‘Oh, I’m not saying another word to you,’ and I’ll say, ‘That will give me material, mother,’”

This spring, McGivern will teach a UWM class, “Telling Tales,” to an already full roster. UWM continuing education program director and friend Gary Topp, who recruited McGivern, and Milwaukee Repertory Theater associate director Ed Morgan have begun filming a documentary of scenes from McGivern’s teaching and stage work, as well as shots of locations that hallmark his heartfelt lore. Sponsorship and funding are still sketchy, but McGivern has also been approached by Channels 10 and 36 and hopes somehow to combine the two mediums into one production. “John is the consummate gentleman…people call him the ambassador of Milwaukee,” says Topp.

 Meanwhile, as McGivern prepares to take Shear Madness to Atlanta under the auspices of McGivern Enterprises, fans flock to secure seats at the Stackner Cabaret, where McGivern stars in Fully Committed, a one-person, 40-character-voice comedy in which McGivern mans a reservation line for Manhattan’s hottest restaurant. All but McGivern’s character are heard but not seen. McGivern has the “funny, quick, improvisational ability to fill the stage so the audience doesn’t wish they’d seen all the other characters,” says Morgan, who will direct McGivern.

“Right now I’m playing all 40 characters in two voices,” McGivern says, mocking his ability to find the other 38 voices he’ll need to complete the cast. He jokes, but no one doubts he’s just the one character to fill all 40 pairs of shoes.