Lewis Black

Lewis Black may not be touring nationally anymore, but the stand-up comic is making a trip to Chautauqua Institution next summer.

Institution officials have confirmed Black will not only perform his noted “The Rant Is Due” show to the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater on July 2. Black is creating a way for audience members to be a part of the show.

“Lewis will be looking for well written, and not necessarily profanity free rants, that he (or perhaps some of our special guests that night!) can voice to the universe for you,” the institution said on its website. “Let Lewis be your megaphone! By using our online submission portal, you will be able to send in the final draft of your rant in the weeks and days leading up to the performance. So, join us for a unique amazing show where you can be both in the writer’s room and the audience all at once. Remember Chautauqua, this show is yours!”

Black announced in 2024 that he was going to stop touring nationally after traveling to roughly 150 shows every year. One of his final two stops came in Jamestown. Black has been a longtime proponent of the National Comedy Center, including serving on its Advisory Board of Directors. Bringing a The Rant Is Due show to Chautauqua Institution is in line with what Black told The Post-Journal’s Michael Zabrodsky in September before his final Jamestown performance.

“I want to get back to writing,” Black said in a telephone interview. “I do a Rantcast. I want to do some of that live.”

Black’s Chautauqua appearance will also include a weeklong series of lectures hosted by Black in the amphitheater at 10:45 a.m. the week of June 30 to July 4. The week of lectures, held in partnership with the National Comedy Center, will investigate how comedy genres, styles and content have evolved to meet modern tastes and sensibilities, and the comedian’s role in defending free speech. Panelists will be announced in the coming months.

Black is a two-time Grammy Award winner and the longest-running correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and is currently starring as the voice of the character Anger in the Disney and Pixar film, Inside Out 2. He also starred as Anger in the first film, Inside Out. Artwork from Inside Out 2 can be found at the National Comedy Center.

During the winter months, Black also said that he had tossed around an idea to have comedy classes at NCC where he and other comedians could teach classes on stand-up comedy or classes on writing comedy. He also added that he could make that class material and present it to area colleges and universities to maybe offer those classes as well.

The comic’s stand-up specials have appeared on major streaming platforms as well as HBO, Comedy Central, Showtime and Epix. His most recent stand-up special, Tragically, I Need You, was released last year and has surpassed 1.8 million views on YouTube to date. In 2020, Black released Thanks for Risking Your Life. His other notable films include Universal’s Accepted co-starring Jonah Hill, Blake Lively and Justin Long, and Man Of The Year opposite Robin Williams, Christopher Walken, Laura Linney and Jeff Goldblum.

Michael Zabrodsky contributed to this report