If a foolish drunk and a man capable of eating 14 cheeseburgers in one sitting do not bring laughs, no one can.

The Randy and Mr. Lahey live show will visit Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St., at 8 p.m. today. Canadians John Dunsworth (Mr. Lahey) and Patrick Roach (Randy) are both main characters on the show “Trailer Park Boys”; they created this traveling production 10 years ago after a successful one-time show, Dunsworth said.

Though the two play their parts from “Trailer Park Boys” on stage, this show is entirely its own.

“ ‘Trailer Park Boys’ is episodic, and we’re just variety entertainment on stage,” Dunsworth said.
The act features skits, songs, and trivia, and it allows audience participation. The duo hopes to entertain and possibly prompt people to begin watching the series.

Occasionally, other members of the TV show guest star in the live show as well, but Randy and Mr. Lahey are the constant staples.
“I’m a drunk, Randy’s a cheeseburger-eating walrus; that’s who we are,” Dunsworth said.

But comedy is not all that the show supports. At the end of each show, Dunsworth and Roach dedicate their performance to veterans, both those who have returned home and those who have been lost, and sing the U.S. national anthem. The guys also take this time to urge audience members to vote for someone who can fix life for veterans and aid in their safe trip home.

“A lot of these vets come up to me after show and say ‘Thank you so much, “Trailer Park Boys” got me through,’ ” Dunsworth said.

That aspect might be deemed wholesome, but the rest of the show won’t be. Dunsworth and Roach ask audience members to engage in “politically incorrect and racy” ways, Dunsworth said. Among other things, in they past they have asked members of the audience to take off their clothes and then made fun of their body shapes.

Thrilling as that may be, the best is yet to come for Dunsworth.

“My favorite part is when it’s over, and I get to meet the fans,” he said. “If that’s all I can in life is making people laugh, then why not?”

When situations take place that concern people (the Donald Trump campaign, North Korea, economics), laughing helps them forget, Dunsworth said. The show may help people all over forget, because it will travel through Tennessee, Illinois, Colorado, and other states on this tour.

“One of the things I like most about touring is that I get to see new people and new places, and I’ve never been to Iowa,” Dunsworth said. “ ‘Trailer Park’ fans are the best of the best people that I meet.”

COMEDY
Randy and Mr. Lahey
When: 8 p.m. today
Where: Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington
Cost: $25