"Three Poles Walk Into a Bar" is comedian Bob Golub's newest stand-up tour taunting those persistent Polish jokes surfacing for decades. Combining food, music and humor, "Three Poles Walk Into a Bar" strives to give show goers a bit of everything Polish. At this Saturday's show, Golub will be joined by local comedians Mick Lazinski and Mike Ostrowski as they playfully counter Polish jokes and stereotypes.
"I've been doing comedy for twenty-eight years and I've always talked about being Polish in my shows. Then when I saw these ethnic themed comedy shows come out, I wanted grab the ethnicity to bring the whole feeling of a polish wedding without the fights; just food, music and humor," Golub explains.
Golub, often referred to as the "Polish Mad Man", appeared in television shows, Comedy Central specials and stand-up comedy shows since the mid 1980's; even playing a small role in the 1990 film "Goodfellas".
With promises of pierogies and accordions, Golub invites attendees to experience a touch of Polish culture before he, Lazinski and Ostrowski take the stage.
"Everything is fresh and original. When we bring the show together, you are going to come in and get samples to get a taste of pierogies and maybe kielbasa," Golub says. "We're going to let the band do a teaser before the show and then close out the show after the comedy."
Capitalizing on the Polish Milwaukee culture, samples fresh Polish food will be served before the show and The Happy Schnapps, the official band of the Green Bay Packers, will entertain the crowd with classic polka music.
"My goal is to make polka hip," Golub explains. "We're looking to eventually get our music where it's rocking polka."
Mick Lazinski and Mike Ostrowski are by no means newbie's to the comedy scene. Lazinski grew up in Cudahy but since made comedic appearances on Showtime and VH1. Likewise, Ostrowski, a Chicago native, performed everywhere from Summerfest to Texas' Comedy Gym.
"This is very Milwaukee. Mick is from Milwaukee and the band is the official band of the Packers," Golub explains.
As Polish Americans, Lazinski and Ostrowski aim to jokingly defy Polish social perception with intelligently funny jokes and an all around good time.
"I always tell the audience, if I'm so dumb, who's paying to see who. We want people to know this is fun and we just want to bring people together and give them a bit of our culture," Golub explains. "I don't care if someone does polish jokes in their show; it's all about how you say it and how you tell it. Our country is so divided, we want people to loosen up and come together."
Fully embracing his "Polish Mad Man" nickname, Golub strives to keep his concepts original by connecting with audiences across the country.
In addition to Saturday's show, Golub and crew will be filming a "Three Poles Walk Into a Bar" inspired documentary in Milwaukee on Oct. 15 and 16. Golub's first docucomedy, "Dodo", took viewers to his hometown of Pittsburgh in a comical look at Golub's family growing up.
"For this film, we're going through the city and filming a documentary. We're going to do mostly street interviews asking people what they think about the show and if they have any Polish jokes," Golub says. "I find most of the people with Polish jokes are Polish themselves."
The show runs this Saturday, Oct. 18th at the Modjeska Theater.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Maureen Post grew up in Wauwatosa. A lover of international and urban culture, Maureen received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
After living on the east side of Madison for several years, Maureen returned to Milwaukee in 2006.
After a brief stint of travel, Maureen joined OnMilwaukee.com as the city’s oldest intern and has been hooked ever since. Combining her three key infatuations, Milwaukee’s great music, incredible food and inspiring art (and yes, in that order), Maureen’s job just about fits her perfectly.
Residing in Bay View, Maureen vehemently believes the city can become fresh and new with a simple move across town.
