Chris Redd is very excited to let St. Louis know why he is the way he is. In fact, his new HBO Max special, Why Am I Like This?, which will be recorded live at The Grandel on Saturday, August 27, is dedicated to that very idea.
As a multi-hyphenate stand-up comic, actor, writer, and rapper, Redd has gained recognition for his many projects, including his recent Peacock series Bust Down, the NBC sitcom Kenan, and films like Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and Scare Me, in addition to his five seasons on Saturday Night Live. But Redd wants people to get to know him a bit better on this latest tour. “I’m just excited to like have people know me in a real way comedically,” Redd says. “I play a lot of other people in a lot of things that I do, but now I get to bring people into my life.”
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Redd says the material for his latest special was mined from his personal journey of self-discovery, pulling from his experiences starting therapy amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and taking an entertaining look at his life with his newfound perspective and diagnosis from therapy.
The choice to film his special in St. Louis was part of that reflection. Redd was born in St. Louis and spent his early childhood here before moving to the Chicago area in elementary school. “It’s special, because part of why I booked it there is because it begs the question of why I’m like this,” Redd says. While he doesn’t have a ton of memories in St. Louis, he says the city still had an impact on him. “I remember I left kicking and screaming, so I learned really early to leave things you love, and you’ll be back to them when you can,” Redd says. “And any time I’ve ever come back, they’ve shown so much love.”
When looking for a venue in St. Louis, Redd felt an immediate connection with The Grandel. “I really like helping out underprivileged kids, and when I went to look at The Grandel, it was right across the street from [HEAL Center for the Arts], an organization that’s really been helping the kids for years,” Redd says. “So it just felt like it was the move to me.”
In addition to working on new material around his path of self-discovery, Redd notes that he’s also leaning into his improv background and blending improvisation into the jokes and stories he’s been building in his set. “I think there’s really a special thing to being able to write on the spot and have it intertwined with the things that you have been writing for years already,” Redd says. “I’ve been doing that for a long time on the road, and I haven’t really captured it on camera before, so I’m really excited to see if it feels as awesome as it does on stage.”
Tickets for Chris Redd’s taping of Why Am I Like This? are available online at metrotix.com.
