John Early Is Known for Search Party and Other Roles, But Stand-Up Lets Him Be Himself

It's hard to know where to start a conversation about comedian John Early's career because it has blossomed in so many different ways.

Early has a strong foothold in some of television's biggest cult hits, such as the criminally short-lived Netflix comedy anthology The Characters, Tim Robinson's I Think You Should Leave and HBO's Search Party, on which he played the pathological narcissist Elliott.

One of Early's characters, the denim-clad, Southern-and-sassy Vicki, has found a life of her own online, becoming so popular that comedian Amy Schumer asked if Vicki, not John, could officiate her wedding to Chris Fischer. Vicki did so with so much gusto that she hit on the groom in the middle of the ceremony.

Early still performs stand-up with a full band who have been with him for more than a decade, providing the music for his stunning Britney Spears impersonation. We're not talking about a MAD Magazine-style impersonation of the pop star's persona: Early has strained his vocal chords enough to sing just like Britney fucking Spears.

"This stand-up tour, this is kind of the one constant of my pathetic little career," Early says with a laugh. "It's a sacred thing I do once or twice a year. I enter kind of like I'm Sandra Bernhard known."

All of this has finally helped Early get his first, long overdue comedy special on HBO called Now More Than Ever, which premieres on June 17. In the meantime, he's on tour with his latest comedy show including one scheduled on Tuesday, May 23, at the Texas Theatre.

The HBO special looks like an interesting mix of scripted and improvised sketches and scenes between stand-up and musical performances, and it rolls out like a behind-the-scenes rock documentary.

"It's a big, blown-out version of the show I'll do in Dallas," Early says. "It's very inspired by The Last Waltz, Gimme Shelter and [This Is] Spinal Tap. I'm really, really excited about it. I'm very proud of it and I'm so excited to do this last tour because I feel like once the special comes out, it will feel very gauche to do them. So these last 10 shows feel very special to me. So no pressure, Dallas."
Early's stand-up comedy is "interwoven," he says, through the narratives built by the behind-the-scenes sketches and musical performances with his band The Lemon Squares, who have made him such a powerful presence behind the mic. The stand-up also allows him to step away from his characters and share something a little more personal with his audience.

"It's really, really fun and sweaty and silly but I also like being on stage in this kind of capacity in a room with people," Early says. "It's also an opportunity to be a little more like I am in my real life and like the psychos I play on TV. It's a little more direct, sincere and warm."

Early says sometimes it's hard to escape from what he calls the "psycho-gay monsters" he plays on TV, but doing stand-up gives him time to be himself for his fans even if they only know him from his TV characters.

'I watched Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret last night and it's so good," Early says. "It was so warm and moving. I was like, God, I want to do that. I want to play a mom. I was so jealous of Rachel McAdams. There are so many other parts of myself, not to sound corny, that I haven't accessed in a film and television setting. I'm always gonna come back to this foundational kind of clown thing that I do. It's always gonna be there, but I'd definitely love to shake it up."

His live show doesn't completely abandon the characters who helped build his comedy persona. Early promises that "Vicki will be there."

"She's obviously very excited about Dallas," Early says. "She's a real road dog, especially in the South, which is her bread and butter."