Marco Island Comedy Club Seafood Restaurant

Chris Kattan seeks seafood, brings humor to Marco Island

Chris Kattan wasn’t in one of his many characters when discussing the prospect of sampling some local seafood when he hits town this week.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said the “Saturday Night Live” alumnus who created such popular alter-egos as “Mango,” “Mr. Peepers” and “Suel Forrester” during his seven years on the show. “It’s neat to get a taste of the different places that I go.”

The movie star from “A Night at the Roxie,” “Undercover Brother” and “Corky Romano” will grace the Off the Hook Comedy Club stage from Thursday through Friday.

A veteran actor, director and writer who got his start as a member of L.A.’s “The Groundlings” improv troupe, Kattan is a relative newcomer to stand-up comedy.

He tried it for the first time in December and by March, Kattan was taking his act on the road.

“I’m very fortunate to be able to find out that my stand-up is as strong as my improv stuff,” said Kattan. “I found out that I’m much funnier in person than doing anything else and now people can see that.”

Kattan said a friend’s urging led him to take add this new aspect to his bag of tricks.

“He said, ‘You have a lot of fans out there who you’re not even aware of,’ ” said Kattan. “There are a lot of heart-warming people out there and you don’t see that when you’re in the midst of the business. He said, ‘You’ve got a lot of offers from cities around the U.S. who want you to come and make them laugh.’ ”

With that, the Los Angeles resident began compiling stories and developed an act that he would try out, unannounced, at clubs.

After, honing his skills sufficiently, Kattan began booking gigs.

Kattan said he’s been appearing on staged since he was 7 – his father, the late Kip King, was an actor and an original “Groundling” – and he rather quickly found his comfort zone on the stand-up stage.

Audiences can expect humor that eschews politics and harshness in favor of a warm-hearted approach that will likely include visits from some of Kattan’s signature characters like Mango and Corky Romano.

However, Marco audiences will help shape each show’s direction.

“I’m not a joke teller,” said Kattan. “Because of starting out with (The Groundlings), a lot of my stuff is improv. I have a set list, but I tend to veer off into stuff that comes from my interaction with the crowd. The stuff that comes up that’s great is the stuff that comes from the audience. It’s never the same.”

Somehow, local seafood offerings and Kattan’s fondness for delicacies of the deep kept working their way back into the conversation.

Kattan closed things out his Sun Times interview by bidding the interviewer a fond farewell, before making this request – “save me some lobsters.”

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