Curtain to shut on in style Lincoln comedy showcase following dying of founder Brad Stewart

The stand-up comedians — lots of them regional comics, however dozens representing all corners of america — started altering their profile footage to ones with them acting on the Zoo Bar stage, the downtown Lincoln nightspot that hosts Zoolarious.

“It was so nice to see individuals begin doing that. It warmed the center,” mentioned Omaha comic David Shaun, who then laughed at how Stewart would have reacted to such a gesture. “He can be rolling his eyes watching this.”

That epitomizes Stewart, 48, who died Oct. 24 after a brief and aggressive bout with pancreatic most cancers. He labored selflessly to advertise the comedy present and the comics he dropped at the Zoo Bar, and was reluctant to take any of the credit score for what he created.

On Sunday, the Zoolarious stage will probably be lit yet one more time — partially to honor its founder whereas fulfilling the ultimate date of bookings in Stewart’s calendar.

“Zoolarious is finished as of Sunday,” mentioned native comedian Sadie Bolte, who will co-host Sunday’s 8:30 p.m. present with Jake Gardner. “There will probably be individuals who need the present to proceed, however that legacy is Brad’s.

“Zoolarious will stick with him.”

The ultimate present will characteristic Shaun and be headlined by Donny Townsend, a local of Davenport, Iowa, who has constructed a regional following.

“It could’t assist however have form of an fascinating vibe,” mentioned Gardner, a local of Salt Lake Metropolis who got here to Lincoln for faculty, found comedy and — after just a few years in New York — moved again. “I don’t need it to devolve into some form of elegy, as a result of it’s a comedy present, you recognize. Will probably be a enjoyable, humorous good time.”

As cliché because it sounds, that is simply what Stewart would need.

He launched Zoolarious in 2014, two years after returning to Nebraska from Southern California to are inclined to his ailing father, who had contracted Lou Gehrig’s illness.

Previous to his return, the native of Arapahoe had carved out a decade-long comedy profession and acquired his huge break when he toured with and opened for the late Joan Rivers.

When he acquired again to Lincoln, he discovered a downtown that was devoid of any sort of comedy neighborhood.

Seeing the necessity, he approached Zoo Bar proprietor Pete Watters, who most weeks deliberate no musical acts on Sundays. Watters gave the go-ahead, anticipating nothing and getting a lot extra.

“He put his coronary heart into it and it was wonderful to look at,” Watters mentioned. “He was relentless in constructing it up. He stored going and going.”

Abruptly, Lincoln had a comedy neighborhood.

“He actually sort of stirred up the entire comedy scene right here,” mentioned Tammy Rice, Stewart’s life companion of the final seven years. “There wasn’t a lot occurring in Lincoln previous to him getting the ball rolling.”

Make no mistake, that ball did not begin rolling by itself. It took lots of pushing from Stewart to achieve some ahead momentum.

“He was at all times selling it. His purpose was to run probably the most skilled present each week,” Rice mentioned.

Maybe one of the best instance of that got here on the night Stewart died — a Sunday evening because it have been. Rice mentioned as he lay in a hospital mattress together with his physique shutting down, “his system failing,” he nonetheless tweeted thrice and despatched a textual content to Tom Ryan, that present’s headliner, to advertise the present.

“We have been in shock that he was nonetheless, to the bitter finish, all about ensuring the present was good,” Rice mentioned.

With time, Zoolarious grew right into a comedy showcase that would appeal to a few of the finest stand-up comics within the business to Lincoln.

Let that sink in. Whereas most of Lincoln was dwelling, gearing up for the beginning of a brand new work week, a Sunday evening comedy present was starting to achieve traction.

“It’s sort of unlucky that after he acquired Zoolarious into that candy spot, he handed,” Rice mentioned.

Through the years, Stewart used his connections to draw nationwide comics similar to Eddie Pepitone, Derek Sheen, Ben Roy and Alonzo Bodden.

Extra necessary, he was consistently attending the open-mic nights in Omaha and Lincoln to domesticate native expertise for Zoolarious. When he discovered somebody, he turned their mentor.

“I used to be very fortunate to have somebody take me below their wing and mentor me,” mentioned Gardner, who co-hosted the present for 3 years after getting back from New York. “Brad confirmed me the ropes.”

Bolte’s story is comparable. She was tending bar at Panic when Stewart was struck by her humorousness.

“He assumed that I used to be a comic,” the Columbus native mentioned. “I used to be too shy to really do it. However he pushed me. He was the one who pushed me to do issues like that.”

Bolte did two open-mics earlier than Stewart invited her to do a Zoolarious set in 2017. That set her on her approach to common gigs within the space.

And as native comics started to emerge and flourish, Zoolarious slowly began to achieve the eye of each the business and Lincoln.

“Once I acquired again from New York (in 2017), there was a comedy scene right here,” Gardner mentioned. “There was some fascinating, cool stuff occurring. That was because of lots of people, however lots of that was Brad’s doing.

“I may inform again then (Zoolarious) was by far the best factor to do on a Sunday in Lincoln.”

There was discuss of one other comedy present filling the void. Clearly, there’s a want, Gardner mentioned. It would even happen on the Zoo Bar on Sunday nights, though at this level, every thing continues to be solely within the dialogue phases.

The one factor for certain is that it will not be known as Zoolarious.

“Zoolarious was Brad’s present,” Shaun mentioned. “It was his child. No person else may ever carry that torch.”