THE “TIM AND ERIC MANDATORY ATTENDANCE TOUR!,” STARRING THE PATRON SAINTS OF AMERICAN SURREALIST TV COMEDY, TRAVELS TO BROOKLYN

BY MATT SCANLON

For decades, American fans of comedic surrealist TV, whether inspired by Monty Python’s Flying Circus or more recently Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace or The Mighty Boosh, typically had to content themselves with these and/or similar but nearly always British productions to satisfy a taste for absurdist plotlines, unexpected interruptions, deliberate low production values, and frequent fourth wall breaking. Happily, we New Worlders have been able to cherish our own auteurs in the genre since Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim rolled out the groundbreaking Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, which aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim from 2007 to 2010. A glorious mash up of cringe comedy, terrible musical acts, faux commercials, jagged editing, and laughably poor special effects seemingly edited on a VCR (iconic skits including “Celery Man” and the consistently uninformed advice of “Dr. Steve Brule”), it was also spiced by decidedly dark writing the two, in the end, managing to brand an entirely new form of satire. A similarly surreal approach was seen in the duo starred 2011 film, Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, which featured Awesome Show alums John C. Reilly and Zach Galifianakis, along with Will Ferrell, Jeff Goldblum, and Bob Odenkirk. The 2013 to 2017 Adult Swim series, Tim and Eric’s Bedtime Stories, was a similarly biting and unsettling parody of horror anthology TV shows.

Abso Lutely Productions, co-founded by Heidecker and Wareheim, is part of the creative force behind The Eric Andre Show, Magic for Humans with Justin Willman, Comedy Bang! Bang! and Tim and Eric’s Bedtime Stories. The two have also independent careers in both comedy and straight acting, as well as writing and producing. Heidecker starred in the last October released film, Mister America, as a man who runs for public office after being acquitted of murder charges, and has also appeared in the films Bridesmaids and Jordan Peele’s Us. He’s currently starring in the Adult Swim comedy series, Decker, alongside Gregg Turkington. Wareheim most recently portrayed Arnold Baumheiser on the Emmy winning Netflix Master of None series, starring Aziz Ansari. He’s also had a longstanding passion for music, most recently as keyboardist for the Philadelphia instrumental post rock band, Sola.

A January 15 launched road show brings the pair together again. The Tim and Eric Mandatory Attendance Tour! kicks off in Sydney, with four more gigs in Australia before heading to North America through March (wrapping on March 7 at Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles), including a visit to Kings Theatre on February 11. Though details of the show were sparse at time of press, ample bizarrity can be expected from this assembly of “spoofs, goofs and insanity,” as the Tim and Eric site details, “including some very special surprises we can’t talk about right now.”

“We know in the past that it has been optional to buy tickets, and even to attend, but this tour is a little different,” the pair gently threaten on the show’s promo video. “You watch this video, you gotta come to the show…it’s legally binding. You bought the ticket just by watching this.”

Kings Theatre tickets start at $49.50. Ambassador Club Premium Seats were also available at press time, which include expedited access through the private Ambassador Club Entrance, access to the Ambassador Club Lounge and its own facilities and refreshments (including pre show Happy Hour), a balcony box seat, and dedicated in seat food and beverage service (visit the Theatre site to purchase).

Kings Theatre
1027 Flatbush Avenue / kingstheatre.com