Giggle through the night with Tucson Improv Movement

Joe Gatto is that smart, well-adjusted rascal we all want for a best friend. He shows up for it, too, 24/7, bearing kids, rescue dogs and cannoli. And he lives to make you laugh. He says so right there on his Instagram account. It has two million followers.

If you know of him, it’s likely as a member of The Tenderloins improv troupe and their TruTV hit “Impractical Jokers.” The show features the four Tenderloins, real high-school buddies now approaching middle age, perpetrating ever more ingenious and elaborate pranks on each other, with the innocent involvement of ordinary citizens.

Imagine the camaraderie of that group, as the friendship was forged in the same Staten Island Catholic high school. But, as he related in social media, Gatto’s family life hit a snag midway through the show’s ninth season. “Impractical Jokers’” 10th season carried on without him.

That couldn’t have been easy. According to his buddies, as quoted in various media, Gatto had been at once the best and the worst player to prank. The point of the prank is to tease and humiliate the player, but Gatto always owned the bit large, playing it up as if he’d made it up himself. He was as shameless as he was hilarious.

He had also produced and personally edited every single episode. 

Since he left, he’s devoted much of his time to a lifetime dream he’d largely abandoned for the “Impractical Jokers:” writing and producing stories for TV and movies. While scripts are out for consideration, he’s taking the stage himself, doing standup comedy. He’ll bring his show, “Joe Gatto’s Night of Comedy,” with opener and friend “Jiggy” (Mark Adrian), to Linda Ronstadt Music Hall at 7 p.m. Friday, June 9. Tickets start at $38.

What was it like to step out on his own? “I was having a heart attack thinking about it. Sixty minutes!” Gatto said. “It took a minute to come together.”

Once he got into it, though, he realized he’d been preparing for it all his life. He had even shaped the format in live shows with fellow Tenderloins, and in the 2016 movie, “(Impractical) Jokers,” which he co-wrote and produced.    

“I’m a storyteller,” Gatto said. “And a lot of stories about my life involve the guys. We’re friends for 40 years at this point, so stories about my time on the show, things that we got into just being friends, things I’ve done to embarrass them in real life. 

“Then I talk about how I live an awkward life and how it’s been affected by getting recognized and other aspects of my life, because the people (who) come out are fans. They’ve seen me on TV for 10 years. They’re not watching a character, they’re watching me. So they really come into the room feeling that they know me and then learn a little bit more. 

“I have some stories about my kids, my adoptable dogs, of course, which is a passion of mine. And then a lot of stories about my crazy Italian mother and growing up with a crazy big family.” 

Unique to Gatto’s take on standup is the absence of a microphone stand. It would be in the way. Followers of “Impractical Jokers” may already be aware of his full-body physicality. “I’m very animated,” he said. “I’m like a panther up there. I’m always moving.’ 

A lot of fans may also already know about his kids and his passion for dogs, via his podcast, “Two Cool Moms,” with friend and comedian and actor Steve Byrne; and his book, “The Dogfather: My Love of Dogs, Desserts and Growing Up Italian.” Gatto sells signed hard copies of the book at gattopups.com to benefit rescue organizations listed on the site.

“Two Cool Moms” podcast episodes are available free on YouTube. “Steve and I have always wanted to try a project together,” Gatto said. “Both of us had really cool mothers who gave great motherly advice, and we think we inherited that, so we decided to do a podcast.” 

Each episode opens with the duo improvising around anecdotes from their family life. They have four grade school kids between them. Then they respond to questions audience members have submitted. “We help them with their dilemmas, with our motherly advice,” Gatto said. The smiles and laughs never stop.

For a writer and a storyteller, Gatto is remarkably self-aware about the foundational role improvisation has made in his life and career. “Improv makes you live a better life,” he said. “I truly believe that. I’ve always recommended improv classes for people, even nonperformers, just the mindset of building on what’s been thrown to you.” 

Lady Ha Ha open mic moves to Club Congress

Organizers Priscilla Fernandez and Mo Urban announced last week that their popular, proactively inclusive open mics and shows are moving to Club Congress at the Congress Hotel. Club Congress is also home to the long-running monthly comedy game show, “Retro Game Show.”

Lady Ha Ha opened its mic at The Rock pre-pandemic and moved to Bumsted’s several months ago. Their first event at Club Congress is a 4th of July Extravaganza Comedy Show at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 6. The mic returns there at the same time Thursday, July 20.

Follow Lady Ha Ha events, including quarterly Kitty Ha Ha shows at El Jefe Cat Shelter, at ladyhahacomedy.com.

Improv Drop-in Class, Online and in Person 

There’s an improv game called “Try That on For Size” in which players pretend to be doing as many things as possible with the same physical action. Whether or not you ever play that game, you’ll be surprised how much improv is like life, when you try it on for size. Unscrewed Theater offers a chance to try improv every Monday evening, in person or on zoom. Drop in any week and come back for more whenever you like.

6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, June 5, and every Monday, Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Boulevard, unscrewedtheater.org, free

OTHER SHOWS THIS WEEK

Laff’s Comedy Caffe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, June 2 and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 3, laffstucson.com, $15, $20 preferred seating, Air Force officer and veteran Jose Sarduy’s jokes come from around the world and his Cuban birthplace.

Tucson Improv Movement/TIM Comedy Theatre, 414 E. Ninth Street, tucsonimprov.com, $7 each show, $10 for both shows, same night, free jam and open mic $20 for all shows in the Improvathon. Thursday, June 1, Improv 201 and “Harold Eta;” 8:30 p.m. Open Mic.; 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 2 through 10:30 p.m. Saturday, June 3. See the website for details of performances and times.

Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Boulevard, unscrewedtheatre.org, $8, live or remote, $5 kids. 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 2, “From the Top” musical improv; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 3, Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed (NBOJU); 9 p.m. The Backyard improv variety show. 

This article appears in Jun 1-7, 2023.