Politics and humor are on board at the M.V. Film Center Saturday, Oct.19. Boston comedian Jimmy Tingle will bring his latest one-man show, “20/20 Vision,” about politics and comedy, to the Island.
Tingle ran for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in 2018, and garnered 41.3 percent of the primary vote. In “20/20 Vision,” he will talk about why, as a comedian, he decided to run for office. A Democratic activist for many years, he joked in his campaign speech, “I’m not thinking about Donald Trump all day.” In keeping with that comment, he plans to move beyond the current contentious politics to a more positive approach in his Vineyard talk.
In his 2018 primary campaign speech, Tingle supported many traditionally progressive causes for the Democratic Party, but added, half-humorously, “Fix the T” (Boston subway). In the lieutenant governor primary, he carried the Vineyard, which he called an honor. “It’s such an iconic community,” he said.
His visits to the Vineyard are regular, and extend back to the former Hot Tin Roof, and include the Vineyard Playhouse, as well as the Film Center. Most recently he was part of a “Ditch Mitch” event on the Island to support candidates in Kentucky in September.
A Cambridge native, he attended UMass Dartmouth, and received a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. His extensive career includes appearances on “60 Minutes II,” MSNBC, “The Tonight Show,” “Conan” with Conan O’Brien, and “Fresh Air.” He also had an HBO comedy special and cameos in several feature films. Other one-man shows include “Uncommon Sense: Jimmy Tingle for President — The Funniest Campaign in History” and “Jimmy Tingle’s American Dream.” He won Boston Magazine’s Best of Boston award in 2001, and also ran the Off Broadway theater in Somerville for five years. His “Jimmy Tingle’s Uncommon Sense” was the longest-running one-person show in the history of Cambridge’s Hasty Pudding Theater. His latest comedic activity is “Humor for Humanity,” an organization he founded to support nonprofits, charities, and social causes.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever run again,” Tingle said in a recent interview about his run for lieutenant governor. “It was a really profound experience, a real rollercoaster.” He’ll perform at Boston’s Wilbur Theater in December, and later in New York. He hopes to find a media outlet to extend his reach beyond performing live. It’s his long-term goal.
“It’s a different show every time,” Tingle says of “20/20 Vision.” He’s added a lot of video components, and the audience participates in a Q and A. “It’s a lot of fun,” he says. “I just want to do a show that inspires people to get involved, to take action, to participate. It’s easy to lament the state of the world. Better to be part of the solution in whatever way you can.”
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In other M.V. Film Center news, the Manhattan Shorts winner was “Sylvia,” followed by “Nefta Football Club” and “This Time Away.” Best Actor was John Standing in “A Family Affair.”
For information and tickets for “20/20” and other Film Center and Capawock events, see mvfilmsociety.com. For information on films playing at Edgartown Cinemas, visit entertainmentcinemas.com/locations/edgartown.
