Comedian wows local crowd

Funny man, David Allan Grier gave a knee-slapping performance at Tallahassee’s Comedy Zone on Sept. 15. Grier is best known for his flamboyant, yet hysterical character on the earlier ‘90’s, “In Living Color. For Grier, this show in town was another way to exercise what people assume he does best-making people laugh. Trained years ago as a black-belt in Tae-kwon-do and having an interest in boxing, Grier was full of surprises in his earlier days, and he is continuing to wow audiences around the world with his chameleon like persona. However, he doesn’t seek to just amuse audiences with slapstick humor. Grier has an upcoming book and a broadway production in the works. Here is what “DAG” had to say about flipping the script: Q: I have looked at some recent pictures, and we have never seen you bald before. What inspired this new look? Grier: Um, a lack of hair [laughter]! Well you know it was getting thinner and thinner and I was getting tired, it was just very pragmatic. Also, it’s something I have wanted to try for a while because I had to dye my hair for [my show] “Chocolate News.” Also I’m doing a play in New York on Broadway after this [comedy tour], and this is how I think I’m going to look in the play. Q: What is=2 0the play about? Grier: It’s called “Race,” and it’s about race. The basic story [features] Jamie Spader, Kerry Washington and Richard Thomas as lawyers. Thomas has been accused of raping a woman, a black woman. And it’s all about how we deal with that, and of course it’s a conversation about race. So its deep, it’s really serious. Q: What inspired you to write your new book about Barack Obama? Grier: I went to the inauguration. I wanted to document, that big moment. Leading up to Obama’s election, I was one of those people who got addicted to that period. It was all this talk about being ready for a black president and you just didn’t know until the very day [of the election]. I watched all the coverage day and night and I was like man, what’s going to happen after he gets elected, just really trying to encapsulate that moment. It’s [the book is] also part memoir, because I think it’s important that people know where I come from and what I bring to the table in terms of my experiences as a black man. So I talk a little about my upbringing and stuff like that, and all the crazy things I went through to get to this point. Q: I also read that you are a black-belt. Do you have any of those skills left? If you were walking down an alley right now and somebody came behind you… Grier: [S creams loudly] You know, I boxed for a long time. I do love mixed martial arts and boxing, and I have great respect for those people. Because just like me in comedy and acting, that’s what they do for a living. So I just do it to get in shape, and apparently I need to do more of it. Q: So what you go into comedy in the first place? I was an actor and when I first started acting, everybody thought I was a serious actor. I did, “A Soldier’s Play” with Denzel Washington and [everyone] thought I was a serious actor, and so I really wanted to do comedy. Ideally, I want do exactly what I’m doing, to do a serious drama. But ideally I would like to be able to go and do a little bit of everything.