The Every Woman Comedy Tour will feature comedians April Macie, left, Chaunte Wayans, and Aida Rodriguez, right. (Courtesy Image)
When April Macie comes home to visit family, there is one Lehigh Valley stop at the top of her to-do list.
"Palmer Park Mall," the Easton native joked Friday evening during a phone interview to promote tonight's The Every Woman Comedy Tour stop at Musikfest Cafe in Bethlehem.
This Every Woman Comedy Tour will also feature comedians Aida Rodriguez (The Nightly Show, Mom's Night Out) and Chaunte Wayans, star of Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out and niece of actor siblings Damon, Shawn and Marlon Wayans.
"You never have three women on a bill. I can pull up any comedy calendar and maybe every 4-6 months there's maybe one woman (scheduled)," she said. "It never made sense to me why comedy clubs wouldn't appeal to half the crowd in the room."
Not being alone in a hotel, Macie said, is a nice bonus. "As a touring comic, it's weird to be alone in some crazy hotel. It's nice to have other broads to hang out with," Macie said.
Macie, born April Maciejczyk, has appeared on Sirius XM Radio, Access Hollywood, and Talk Soup. In 2008, Macie was chosen as the "The Hottest Funniest Chick" in a contest sponsored by the Howard Stern Show, and won $5,000 in the process. Macie was part of the 2010 Nobodies of Comedy Tour, which stopped that year at the State Theatre in Easton.
She said one of the biggest thrills of returning to the Lehigh Valley is getting texts and phone calls from family members and friends letting her know they spotted Macie on a billboard. "It's always satisfying for the people who picked on me in high school," she teased. "Life comes full circle."
Macie recently became engaged and has spent much of the last several years visiting Europe (her fiancee lives in Italy), incorporating stories and experiences her overseas travel into her routine. "I feel like somewhere along the line I lost a certain level of ambition. I just want to eat pasta and drink wine," she joked. "But I'm starting to find my second wind."
Criss-crossing the globe, Macie said, has taught her a handful of universal truths about human culture. "I think people have to travel more," she said. "Everybody just wants a better life for their children and happiness and to be accepted... And I've realized Americans have no idea where in the world things are. I mean, before I started traveling, I couldn't point out Croatia on a map."
While some comedians have found themselves mining jokes from the current political climate, Macie said she avoids such topics when it comes to writing new material. "To me, I never really talked about politics or religion because it's so polarizing. I feel unless I can make it funnier than someone who did it great, it's not really my area of expertise," she said.
Despite juggling a touring schedule and jetting back and forth between countries, Macie still makes time for her parents, whom live in Coopersburg and Easton, respectively. "I'm there every couple of months, since most of my family is still (in the Valley). You can't avoid them," she joked.
The Every Woman Comedy Tour stops tonight at Musikfest Cafe, inside the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. Doors open 8 p.m. Show time is 9 p.m. Tickets cost $26-$29.