Jimmy Tingle Brings 'Humor Party' to Concord Sunday

Boston-based comedian wants you. He wants you to laugh. He wants you to think. And he wants you to vote … for him.

And that’s why Concord residents might see him stumping around the community, talking about the issues, and his upcoming show at the at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 8.

The show, Jimmy Tingle’s American Dream, will feature a one-hour documentary, a question-and-answer session, and then an old-fashioned campaign speech, that only Tingle can deliver. Right now, he is self-promoting the film at various events around the country.

“It hits a couple of different things,” he said. “It’s getting the film out there, I get to perform, I get the publicize both things, and keep working. It’s what I like to do.”

The film started in 2004 when Tingle opened a theatre in Somerville to perform and book other acts too. He started doing a series of programs on Channel 4 in England with David Frost and then a filmmaker he was working with decided to do a documentary with Tingle. He said the film looks at what people perceive to be the American Dream. The film features other comedians, and both liberal and conservative political figures, and features the struggles of running the theatre and small business, in general.

“It took seven years,” he said. “And we just kept adding things, doing things. Eventually, it became the American Dream and I wrote a one-man show around the film. That became the backbone of the film.”

Tingle called the film “interesting and fun” but is also a documentary.

“It’s pretty funny,” he said. “It’s not a concert film but there’s a lot of humor in it.”

The Tingle for President campaign, he said, is a way of using humor to get a point of view across and get people to think about the presidential issues.

“It’s a blast,” he said.

After Tingle’s show on Sunday, he’s hoping to visit other primary states the week before, setting up shows, showing the film, doing some standup and having some fun. And then in June, he’ll reassess.

“Depending on where I am, my notoriety, how many delegates, my status, how much support I have and how many endorsements, I will either continue as an independent or endorse one of the candidates,” he said.