Keeping it clean

Apostles of Comedy bring their family-friendly tour to Kalispell

Ron Pearson has no shortage of show business credits to his name.

The 43-year-old comedian, who once held a world record for longest stint of continuous juggling, has appeared on television comedies such as "Malcom & Eddie," "The Drew Carey Show," "That '70s Show" and "The George Lopez Show," done stand-up on the late-night circuit, and hosted shows on the Family and Discovery channels.

But in rating his current tour with the Apostles of Comedy, he puts the experience "on my top-two list. Maybe even my top-one list," he said during a phone interview.

Pearson is part of a quartet of comedians who came together as The Apostles of Comedy in 2008 when comedian Jeff Allen wanted to create a family-friendly alternative to the Blue Collar comedy tour. He pulled together four comedians who had in common both their Christian faith and their standings as heavyweights in the comedy business.

The Apostles of Comedy will be in Kalispell at 7 p.m. on April 28 at Flathead High School as part of a monthlong, multi-city run that opened with a sold-out performance April 19 in Phoenix.

The foursome -Allen, Pearson, Brad Stine and Anthony Griffith - also were the subjects of a 2008 documentary film, "The Apostles of Comedy." The movie features the comedians performing on tour with footage of their lives and their Christian testimonies threaded throughout.

Allen has appearances on Showtime, Comedy Central andVH1 to his credit; Stine has been featured on CNN, FOX News, New Yorker magazine, and at Promise Keepers events; and Griffith is a frequent guest on "The Tonight Show," HBO, Comedy Central and "The Bernie Mac Show."

Pearson, a native of Seattle who "might have been" through Kalispell at some point in his life, said despite the show's Christian slant, "pretty much everyone will be entertained."

"There's 80 years of comedy experience up there on that stage," he said. "We just happened to be four guys who are Christians. Entertainment has gone so far in the other direction, there's not much left for people who want it kept clean."

Each comedian performs a roughly 20-minute solo routine, followed by an intermission. Then each man gives another seven minutes of solo material, but stays on stage for the next act.

"Then we're all on stage together for 30 or 40 minutes and it's so much fun," Pearson said.

Each comedian reveals something personal about himself during the show, such as struggles with health problems, drugs and alcohol and other family issues.

"We said, 'Let's touch people's hearts at the same time, knock them down with laughter then touch their hearts," Pearson said. "It's a really neat way of doing a show."

The clean comedy makes it a show for all ages, Pearson said. Anyone age 9 and up, he figures, should be able to follow and understand the humor.

"One night on the first tour, we had something like 2,500 people there, and Brad was sharing about his parents' divorce and it was really heavy and deep, and as soon as he finished a 9- or 10-year-old kid leapt to his feet applauding, he was so obviously affected by it. I thought, 'We're even touching the kids, this is great.'"

But, he added, laughter is a major priority at an Apostles of Comedy show and with four comedic styles on stage, people will find plenty of humor.

"If one guy is not your cup of tea, the next will be," Pearson said. "We follow each other so quickly that it makes us all really try and do really strong material. When the other guys are strong around you, you don't want to look weak. Everyone's swinging for the fences."

Tickets for the Apostles of Comedy range from $12.50 to $18.50. For tickets, call 1-800-325-SEAT or visit www.ticketswest.com.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com