When Sebastian Maniscalco’s second grade teacher went around the classroom asking what students wanted to be when they grew up he answered right away: He wanted to be a stand-up comedian.

Now, Maniscalco has made a name for himself as one of the top 10 grossing comedians in 2017, 2018 and 2019 according to Forbes. He was also the winner of the 2018 Billboard inaugural “Comedian of the Year” award and currently has three Netflix comedy specials, “What’s Wrong With People?,” ”Why Would You Do That?” and “Stay Hungry.”

Maniscalco will be stopping in Syracuse on Oct. 25 and 26 as a part of his “You Bother Me” fall tour. He will be performing a total of four shows at the Landmark Theatre, with two shows each night at 7 and 9:30 pm.

The inspiration behind titling his tour “You Bother Me” comes from his constant frustration for the people he encounters on a day-to-day basis, he said. Maniscalco added that he often came home from school to tell his family what bothered him about his day.

“It’s kind of my state of mind, I’m constantly agitated or bothered by human behavior and I had to have a funny spin on it,” Maniscalco said.

His comedy is deeply rooted in his experiences growing up as the child of Italian immigrants in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He also looks for the comedy in everyday experiences and often speaks of his interactions with people.

“The northeast really gravitates towards my humor,” Maniscalco said. “Whenever I see the northeast on my schedule, I know it’s going to be a really, really great time and a great show because the fans are really passionate out that way so I really enjoy it.”

The executive director of the theater, Mike Intaglietta, said he is anticipating the show to bring traffic to businesses in downtown Syracuse. He performed “two great shows” at the venue January of 2018, said Intaglietta.

“We’re looking forward to four great shows over two nights and are hoping it’s a great thing not just for the people that are here but also for all of downtown,” Intaglietta said.

The comedian didn’t have cable growing up, so he would rely on his cousins to record the comedy specials for when his family visited them on Saturday mornings. He loved watching comedians like Eddie Murphy, Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin and Johnny Carson.

“I would just marvel at how they would remember everything and how they would make it seem like it was their first time ever telling the story, it was very interesting to me at a young age,” Maniscalco said.

Maniscalco moved to Los Angeles in 1998 and worked as a waiter at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. He often encountered celebrities at the hotel including the likes of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, who he is now acting alongside in the new movie “The Irishman.” This is not Maniscalco’s first film role, as he made his acting debut in the “Best Picture” Oscar-winning film “Green Book,” released in 2018.

He later started performing at The Comedy Store, a comedy club in West Hollywood and took stand-up classes. He said he remembers taking any opportunity to practice and improve his material.

“[It] is kind of surreal for me to come out in 1998 and delivering a drink to De Niro and then actually being in a scene with him,” Maniscalco said.

His performance this weekend will likely focus on the birth of his second child this summer and his journey as he navigates fatherhood in today’s day and age, said his manager Judi Marmel from Levity Live.

Marmel has been working for Maniscalco for the past decade and has been there during his rise as a comedian.

“We enjoy every day of the journey we’re on because it is indeed pretty breathtaking and spectacular,” Marmel said. “He’s an incredibly deserving artist he works incredibly hard and has a really big heart.”

But for Maniscalco, this journey is far from being over. He said he refuses that he made it and said that it only becomes harder to maintain your success once you have it. He added that he is looking forward to making an impact on the audience at his Syracuse performances.

For him, the best feedback he can have from his audience is that his comedy helped them through a rough time in their lives.

“I love when I hear people say that they’re either going through a bad time in their life, and they’ve watched my comedy and I’ve taken them out of that state of mind for a little bit and put a smile on their face,” Maniscalco said.

Published on October 22, 2019 at 9:31 pm

Contact Sydney: sabergan@syr.edu