After four decades in comedy, Tim Meadows is finally doing something he’s never done before: perform in Wyoming.
The longtime “Saturday Night Live” veteran and “Mean Girls” favorite will play a three-city run in Cheyenne, Laramie and Casper in June. The tour doubles as a fundraiser for Wyoming charities.
Known for keeping a straight face while those around him can’t with iconic SNL characters like Leon Phelps — aka The Ladies Man — and playing OJ Simpson during his famous murder trial, Meadows has been a fixture on television and in movies.
The appearances are 7 p.m. June 10 at Cheyenne Civic Center and June 11 at Gryphon Theatre in Laramie. There are two shows in Casper, June 12 and 13 at Rialto Theatre.
The four-show run came together almost by accident, a bit of booking serendipity that started with a single Casper date.
Meadows has reached a point in his career where he’s intentionally chasing down new territory. So, an opportunity to play in Wyoming was immediately appealing.
“I’ve been telling my agent, my manager, that I want to go to states where we haven’t been,” he said. “I’ve already done Utah. I’ve still got to hit the Dakotas.
"But I think I want to do this, and then the next thing will be going to more English-speaking countries outside of America.”
Wyoming, in other words, is a deliberate adventure by a 40-year veteran determined to remain curious and keep pushing his boundaries.
“Mainly, I love a challenge,” Meadows said with a chuckle. “I mean, I’ve been to Florida enough, you know what I’m saying?”
Just Tim
Don’t expect a “Wyoming-only” version of Meadows. That’s not his style.
“I really don’t change my show based on where I am,” he said. “My act is about me … being divorced or having kids and having kids grow up — I mean those things are universal. They’re the same for me as they are for somebody living in Wyoming.”
What does change is the moment. He’s always pulling in material from whatever’s happening in his life and on the road.
“I’ve never been to these parts of Wyoming,” he said. “So I know I’ll have some things to talk about during the shows (such as) my experiences being there.”
He also has an unspoken rule when it comes to comedy that may help explain his broad appeal across multiple generations and different cultures.
“I try to punch up,” he said. “I don’t really like to punch down at people or issues that I feel like need help.”
That attracts crowds who tend to be, in his words, “smart and forgiving,” even in an era when comics have to worry about audiences who are “too sensitive or too angry about material.”
A Comedian for Every Generation
If the name Tim Meadows doesn’t instantly ring a bell, Cheyenne comedian and Comedy That Cares organizer Dominic Syracuse says his face and his roles will.
“Most, 90% of people, once they see his face, go, ‘Oh my God,’” Syracuse said. “Every generation has a movie they know him from.”
For some, he’s the deadpan SNL stalwart who bridged two legendary eras — starting alongside Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, David Spade, and Mike Myers.
He was still there when the Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler generation took over.
For others, he’s the smooth-talking star of “The Ladies Man,” based on his SNL character, or the perpetually stressed Principal Duvall in “Mean Girls.”
Younger fans, meanwhile, will know him from “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Peacemaker,” “The Mandalorian” and “Grown Ups,” as well as a recent CBS workplace comedy set in a DMV, which Meadows says was one of the best jobs of his career.
Syracuse jokes that promoting Meadows has been oddly difficult. Not because the star’s resume is thin, but because it’s too full.
“It’s trying to cram 30 years' worth of comedy gold into a 60-second promo or a single picture,” he said. “This is a really good opportunity, even if you’ve never heard of Tim Meadows, even if you’re not a fan of ''Saturday Night Live.’
“It’s just a chance to go out on a weeknight and see a great comedy show.”
How Wyoming Captured Meadows’ Attention
Although two of Meadows’ three appearances in Wyoming will be for Comedy That Cares — a series that brings top-name comedians to the state to raise money for local nonprofits — Syracuse is clear that the real credit for bringing Meadows here belongs to Eli Corrales in Casper, who first booked Meadows for the Rialto.
When Syracuse heard about that, he spotted an opening.
“We wanted to end our season with a bang,” Syracuse said. “So I reached out and we pitched them the idea of doing a couple benefit shows in Cheyenne and Laramie on their way up to Casper.”
Meadows’ team called back and said, “If it’s for charity, Tim would love to do it,” Syracuse said.
Comedy That Cares is in its first season for Wyoming and has so far raised just under $100,000 for Wyoming nonprofits, including Climb Wyoming, Meals on Wheels, and Robbie’s House.
“This time, 100% of the show in Cheyenne goes to the Comea Shelter,” he said. “Every ticket sold helps fight homelessness in your community.”
Not A Nostalgia Act
Talk to Meadows, and you won’t get the sense of a man who is coasting on his greatest hits, even though some of those hits are pretty great.
After being in comedy for 40 years, he knows a lot of shortcuts, but there’s still real work that has to be done for each show to meet his standards.
“I still have to learn lines,” he said. “I still have to research my character, and I still have to read newspapers, know what’s going on in the world and write new material.”
Ask about legacy, and he won’t reach for ratings or awards either.
“I want to be known as a good father, a good friend,” he said. “I want the people who know me to know that I love them. I want people to say that I worked hard. That I was liked by a lot of very talented people who asked me to work with them, and I tried to stay out of my own way.”
He’s proud of all his work, but not any one piece in particular.
The strange, subversive SNL sketch that became “The Ladies Man,” for example, was developed from a secret, unknown crank call.
It was something clever that still gets shown every Valentine’s Day, and he’s proud of that.
But he’s also proud of the recently canceled “DMV" sitcom, which was “one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.”
A Legendary Moment
For Meadows, Wyoming is another pin on the map, another room of strangers to win over, and another chance to see if his brand of honest, personal comedy can land in a new place.
That’s how he’s been winning new fans every generation, and it’s not something he plans to ever stop doing.
“I don’t do anything else,” he said. “Like this is the only thing I’ve ever really done, so I’m just going to keep doing it until I can’t do it or don’t have the inspiration to do it, but yeah, I still enjoy it.”
For Wyoming, meanwhile, this is a feather in its cowboy hat, with a “Saturday Night Live” legend coming to play four live sets in Cheyenne, Laramie, and Casper.
Meadows has spent the last 40 years being “that guy” people will recognize instantly, delivering lines audiences quote for years.
This time, Wyoming gets to hear him do it live — and maybe raise a glass of Courvoisier with him.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
