CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Among his many memories of visiting Northeast Ohio, comedian and “WTF” podcast host Marc Maron readily admits they’re mostly food-based. And that’s a good thing.
“I really liked going to The Greenhouse Tavern,” said Maron, calling from New York City. “It was an interesting restaurant. I’m so sad that Jonathon (Sawyer) went out of business over there.
“There’s also the grilled cheese restaurant (Melt) and the corned beef place, Slyman’s. Also, Nick (Kostis) has some great food at Hilarities. Outside of that, I’ve always found the city to have good audiences. I definitely have people in Cleveland.”
Maron will be back in town this weekend for his “This May Be The Last Time Tour,” which comes to Playhouse Square for a May 13 show at the Mimi Ohio Theatre.
Any avid listener of “WTF” knows the podcast was started as a last-ditch effort for Maron to salvage whatever remained at that time of his diminishing stand-up career.
Nearly 13 years later, the interview show remains in the top 20s of comedy podcasts.
“It’s surprising that we’ve held onto the audience,” Maron said. “That we were there at the beginning and probably inspired a lot of people to get involved with this thing. Now it’s lost its uniqueness as a medium. The joke used to be ‘What’s a podcast?’ and now it’s ‘Do you have a podcast?’
“So we lived through all of that, and we still sort of have a good rating, a good number. Nothing has wavered that much. We’re kind of set up to continue to have a successful run at this thing.”
Over the years, memorable “WTF” guests have ranged from Robin Williams, Ben Stiller and Lorne Michaels to Keith Richards and President Barack Obama.
While the comedian hinted during the pandemic not doing comedy for live audiences was a lot easier than he expected, that’s not the case with “WTF.”
“I don’t really get tired of it because I’m always meeting new people,” Maron said. “It’s part of my life. It’s part of my mental health at least twice a week to sit down with unique people and have sort of spontaneous conversations. It’s very healthy for the heart and mind.”
Maron, who recently lent his voice to the lead character of Mr. Snake in DreamWorks Animation’s new action-comedy “The Bad Guys,” continues to explore his acting chops. Most recently was his Critics’ Choice and SAG Award-nominated portrayal of Sam Sylvia in Netflix’s recently cancelled show “GLOW.”
Up next for Maron is providing the voice of Lex Luthor in the upcoming animated feature film “DC League of Super-Pets.” What’s hilarious is the fact the comic notoriously doesn’t follow or enjoy the MCU zeitgeist yet here he is taking a superhero-related gig.
It’s not a stretch to suggest a parallel exists with “WTF,” which ostensibly took off after his entertainment career stalled. Could the secret be the more Maron hates something the bigger an opportunity awaits?
“I guess or I think it’s more about getting to a point where you don’t give a (expletive),” Maron said. “I don’t know if there’s some sort of inverted karma to being critical of something and all of sudden you’re offered an opportunity. It may be a sort of test of character. Most of my opportunities in life happened at a point where I can handle it.
“By the time my real breaks started happening, I was well beyond expecting them to happen and well prepared for them to happen. That’s sort of where it comes from. I say ‘no’ frequently. And what determines whether or not I say ‘yes’ is several different things, including the amount of work. But you’d be surprised at how much I’m driven by maintaining insurance with SAG.”
Currently, Maron is on the road with his “This May Be The Last Time Tour,” which comes to Playhouse Square for a May 13 show at the Mimi Ohio Theatre.
While some fans may be worried the comedian is considering retirement from the stage, Maron said the title is more about survival.
“It’s just a skeptical tour about the future of me and us and of the country and the world,” Maron said. “It’s not supposed to be foreboding. I’m not really retiring but I do think about that a lot. I don’t know what that means really. I don’t know where my new hours come from but right now I’m touring without an opener and doing on average an hour and 45 minutes.
“I guess as long as things come, and I have an audience, I’ll keep doing it. With the podcast and with stand-up and with anything else, as soon as I start to drift in terms of relevance or audience I hope I’m cognizant enough to say, ‘OK, well, we did it and maybe we’re done.’ But I’ve never known anyone to (expletive) do that, so we’ll see.”
PREVIEW
Who: Marc Maron
Where: Playhouse Square’s Mimi Ohio Theatre, 1511 Euclid Ave., Cleveland.
When: 7 p.m. Friday, May 13.
Tickets: $45-$59.50, via playhousesquare.org
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