(Photos courtesy Jeff Klein)
TAMPA | Jeff Klein will record his comedy special “Fatty Gay” at The Commodore Sept. 8 and 15 from 7-9 p.m., a first for the fan favorite comedian.
The Florida native says he’s always loved comedy, evident in the stand-up he’s performed nationwide for 10 years. In Tampa Bay, Klein has entertained audiences at major LGBTQ+ events, created LGBTQ+-focused shows and can regularly be seen at Side Splitters Comedy Club.
“My parents were big stand-up fans and introduced me to Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Eddie Murphy. Big stand-up fans, questionable parents,” he muses. “In middle school, I was getting into a lot of trouble and I had to stop getting into fights … I realized I could start joking around to defuse situations. That’s what started me into comedy.”
Klein, who is gay, sees his brand as both observational and self-deprecating.
“I talk about not fitting into my community or my clothes,’” he says. “I take stereotypes and talk about them. I am who I am on and off the stage, so I talk about that and my life experiences.”
One such experience inspired Klein’s special, which he plans to premiere on Prime Video after editing the two performances together. While compiling enough material to perform for a cruise ship, a standard 90 minutes, he drew inspiration from a friend’s young daughter who was learning to speak French.
“She had just learned to say she was tired,” he says — a phrase which includes the French word “fatigué” — “and she was hitting it real hard as ‘fatty gay.’ We were having her say it over and over again and immediately I knew it was going to be a bit.
“The more I worked on it, the more it started shaping what my first special would be,” Klein continues. “It’s a great word and there’s a whimsicalness to it, but it also breaks down the two sections of the special.”
The first part tackles Klein’s “being out of shape, going to the doctor and all of the things guys with a couple of extra pounds deal with in life,” he says. The second half addresses “dating a guy from the South, my boyfriend Matt, some stuff about my ex and gay lions … it’s real thoughtful, as most of my comedy is.”
Klein says The Commodore, billed as “Tampa Bay’s home for improv, sketch and alternative comedy,” was the perfect fit to record the special.
“It feels like a smaller community style theater,” he notes. “I’m not a flashy guy, so a flashy space wouldn’t be right for me. I like staying true to who I am and they’ve been great to work with.”
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. each evening before “Fatty Gay” tapes. The evening will also feature opening acts, other comedians Klein has worked with over the years.
“That’s a real feel-good part about it,” he says. “The comedy community is almost like the gay community in that it feels tightknit — you get people from all different walks of life and you become friends over a common thing, that we like laughing and making people laugh.”
“Fatty Gay” was curated with that in mind.
“A lot of the jokes that I’ve put into this set are ones that people have continued to talk about,” Klein explains. “My hope is that after you see it, it will become a part of an inside joke with you and your friends for weeks to come. That’s the biggest compliment I can get.”
“Fatty Gay” tapes Sept. 8 and 15 at The Commodore, located at 811 E. 7th Ave. in Tampa. Tickets are $15 at CommodoreComedy.com. For more information about Jeff Klein, visit JeffKleinComedy.com.
