Bobby Collins. (Courtesy Photo)
Comedian Bobby Collins returns tonight to the State Theatre in Easton, where he has been performing regularly for more than 20 years.
The amount of time he has performed on the 91-year-old theater's main stage is not lost on the Queens native. During our phone conversation earlier this week, he praised the theater staff and President and CEO Shelley Brown.
"The people there wear their hearts on their sleeves and know the value of a dollar," Collins remarked.
The 66-year-old performer is not afraid to call it as he sees it and he wondered why others are afraid to do the same. And he has plenty of things he plans on getting off his mind this evening.
Marriage, fatherhood, getting older -- we both bemoaned getting up several times during the night to use the bathroom, although, for the record he is slightly ahead of me in the count -- and America's current political climate are among the topics he plans on tackling with his seasoned, hilarious wit.
He recounted performing last year at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach and then being pulled aside by President Donald Trump after the performance. Asked by Trump if Collins voted for the former, Collins jokingly replied, "Are you crazy? I rather vote for El Chapo."
Collins, later in the conversation, dusted off one of his more recent bits. He joked that he has the most secure house in the country and all he had to do was plant a few Islamic State flags in his front yard to make it happen. "I disconnected my security system," he said. "I have the safest house in America and I'm saving 49 bucks a month."
In addition to his recurring gig at the State Theatre -- one he has held consistently since 1996 -- Collins is Grammy Award nominee, an American Comedy Award recipient and author of the book "On the Inside: Witisms and Wisdomisms." He has performed on several occasions with his good friend, singer Tom Jones, and has opened for Frank Sinatra, Cher and Julio Iglesias, among others.
Collins said he is in the early stages of writing a second book that will be more of a financial cautionary tale for others, based off his own business endeavors and experiences.
Collins' 2015 performance at the State Theatre was filmed and released as a DVD, Live from the State Theatre, which will be for sale at the show.
Comedian Bobby Collins performs 7:30 tonight at the State Theatre, 453 Northampton St., Easton. Tickets cost $30.