BY PHIL CUSTODIO
Clarkston News Editor
Comedian Chonda Pierce brings her Happily Laughter After tour to Mt. Zion Church, 4900 Maybee Road, on Friday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m.
“As a Christ follower and a church girl, any time you can get together with people of like mind and your heart kind of in the same place, there’s strength in that,” Pierce said during a phone interview, Sept. 13. “The bible talks about iron sharpening iron and I think that’s what we need a lot.”
This will be her first trip to Clarkston, as far as she remembers.
“After 25 years of this, I’m not sure where I am today,” she said with a laugh. “At a time when sometimes Christianity looks judgmental and harsh, maybe it’s good to come out and see a bunch of church folks cracking up and laughing.”
She’s a clean comic, bringing her experiences as a Christian and preacher’s daughter to the stage.
“Growing up in church as a faithful church follower trying to navigate the way the world is now, gosh, if you don’t keep a sense of humor, you’ll go crazy. You may not make it to heaven,” she said. “It’s not always easy to be clean. Throwing a bunch of dirty words is an easy way to go. But I remember the taste of Ivory soap. I just can’t go that route.”
She channels her life experiences into positivity, which is sometimes a challenge, she said.
“I’ve been at it a long time, long enough so I’ve been through the deaths of so many family members and even the death of my husband of 31 years, who passed away a few years ago,” she said. “I have stored up the sound and the gift of laughter in my very soul so that it became a great medicine. I didn’t make that up, it’s in the Bible, but it’s true. I know there are women in the audience who are having a tough time or a difficult day or just the state the way our politics are, and what’s going on the world.”
She started her career in comedy working summers at Opryland in her hometown of Nashville.
“I was a preacher’s kid so I didn’t know how to dance, so the only way to save my job was to impersonate Minnie Pearl and I ended up doing that all through college,” she said. “I fell in love with the art of that. I don’t have a hat with the price tag but I certainly got a great start in enjoying doing something that makes an audience laugh, besides with my singing.”
She learned her sense of timing and style from the late Sarah Cannon, who portrayed Pearl for more than 50 years.
“What I learned from Minnie Pearl is the joke’s always on me, or some fictitious character or some childhood story instead of humor that stabs at somebody else, or jabs at a sector of people who can’t defend themselves,” she said. “I like that she taught me that.”
Growing up in Nashville was great, she said.
“It was wonderful working at home where your momma can see you at a job where you’re getting paid,” she said. “My mother she was very proud of me. She would come watch the show all the time.”
The evening at Mt. Zion will also feature special guest Karyn Williams. The singer and songwriter’s debut, “Only You,” features the hit single, “Rest In Hope,” which spent more than 30 weeks on the charts.
Also an actress and author, Williams co-penned “The Takeaway” with her father, Orlando Magic senior vice president and founder, Pat Williams. Her latest recording, “Letting Go of Perfect,” was released last year.
“What a delight, she’s so young and energetic,” Pierce said. “It makes for a great combination for a night.”
Pierce earned five Daytime Emmy Award nominations, is ranked among Pollstar’s top-selling live performers with six Platinum DVDs and three Gold DVDs to her credit, and is the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) best-selling female comedian of all time.
Tickets are $45 for VIP early admission and meet-and-greet, and $27 general admission.
Call 800-965-9324 or check www.iTickets.com. For further information, visit chonda.org or turningpointpr.com.