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For 10 years, Joe Gatto was a staple of comedic television. Alongside three of his childhood friends, he starred in “Impractical Jokers,” an improvisational, hidden-camera reality show that has aired on TBS since 2011. At the beginning of 2022, Gatto left the show for personal reasons and to further his career as a stand-up comedian.

“I have come to enjoy the process of writing, thinking of material, trying out stuff that works to develop an hour of comedy and being able to grow my personal standup comedy,” Gatto said. “It’s been really great to get out here and keep making the world laugh while I was going through what I was going through.”

On Oct. 5, Gatto is bringing his “Joe Gatto’s Night of Comedy” tour to Syracuse for a show at Crouse-Hinds Theatre at the Oncenter. Gatto said he loves to perform in college towns and to college students as it is gratifying to connect with people who grew up watching him on TV.

“It really is just cool to get to meet them, interact and talk to those kids and give my little bit of life advice,” Gatto said. “Things to stay away from, any pitfalls and things to try and a little bit different and to show a different audience.”

Gatto finds it fun to hear peoples’ stories of watching the show, and hopefully, how it got them through some tough times. He said being able to make people laugh and cheer them up is one of the great joys in life and the best part of his job.

A lot of his material for the show comes from his experience growing up in Staten Island. He described himself as a storyteller and said he likes to open up to his audience about the people and places that shaped him.

“I also tell stories about my father, about my crazy mother and how that molded me growing up,” Gatto said. “I like telling stories and giving my perspectives on those.”

Since leaving the show, Gatto said he has gone on a journey of discovering himself as a solo performer. Knowing that an audience is coming out to a show to see him alone is very humbling, but challenging.

Gatto understands his set needs to be fun and engaging enough to hold an audience for the entire hour. He tries to be as honest as possible, both with himself and with the people he is speaking to.

“The rewards are bigger, but the work is harder,” Gatto said. “I really took it to heart that I was going to take this on and be a solo act and to make sure that people get what they want.”

Being from New York, Gatto said he is excited to return to the East Coast and perform in Syracuse. He has traveled a lot for his tour and is always relieved when he can reconnect with people that he can relate to or who can relate to him.

“I talk a lot about my experiences being on the road and comparing Syracuse to Appleton, Wisconsin, is a lot of fun for me,” Gatto said. “I feel like New York East Coast is how I grew up, and you’re talking to your people.”

Millions of people got to see the relationship that he had with Sal Vulcano, Brian Quinn and James Murray, but there are 30 years of friendship and hilarity behind the scenes. He’s happy the show gives the audience an opportunity to get to know him a little better and understand his life a bit more.

Gatto has grown a lot as a comedian and performer in the last 20 months, and he hopes to give the audience a night full of laughs and happiness.

“Let’s just have some fun, listen to some stories, have some laughs, get more of the guy you already know,” Gatto said. “People get to hear more about my story and my journey and understand me a little bit more and more about the show that they’ve come to love.”

Published on October 4, 2023 at 11:59 pm