If laughter is universal than the cosmos were one on Friday night. Watching John Witherspoon’s stand-up was the closest I’ve ever come to a religious experience — a packed room, the lights dim, and teeth shining everywhere.

Witherspoon is funny — not just “Friday” funny — not just “The Boondocks” funny, John Witherspoon is funny on his own.

It’s a hard thing to be funny on your own; to stand on a stage and not only expect the audience to laugh, but command that the audience laugh.

Witherspoon has a developed act — the astute observer will see no seams within the comedy force that is within him.

He releases his material into the audience like a well oiled machine – never pausing for too long or getting tongue tied and forgetting what to say.

It’s beautiful, when he laughs, it’s the laugh of a man who knows he has you exactly where he needs you.

I’ll be the first to admit I went into the Orlando Improv with preconceived notions.

Interestingly, Witherspoon knows who you think he is and what you’ve come to see, so he begins his show by delivering just that.

There’s nothing more perfect than hearing “Bang, Bang, Bang!” in person.  All these years, that character we’ve grown to love, on screens both big and small, was just Witherspoon being himself.

It should not be legal for a man to be this funny. At a certain point, laughter can become deadly — just imagine – a laughter so hard breathing is next to impossible, however it’s all that you can do so you attempt to wind it down and hope not to explode.

That is the sort of talent that should be illegal and Witherspoon possesses it in spades.

A comic’s comic to the fullest. There were points when one would look around and see other professional comics doubled over in laughter — their faces so red you’d think blood vessels were bursting in mass.

Contrary to popular belief, this is a normal occurrence when dealing with true comic genius. Comedy may be truth in its purest form; able to both arm and disarm at the same time. Generally, people laugh at the same things because, at the end of the day, the human experience is shared by all of us. Friday night in that room, dozens of people became one.

For a moment, we all became John Witherspoon.

John Witherspoon will be performing live at the Orlando Improv this entire weekend. You can catch him live on Saturday, Aug. 7th at 7:30 PM and 10:15 p.m. and then again on Sunday, Aug. 8th at 7:30 PM.

Tickets are $22 and seats are on a first come first serve basis. All guest must be 21 or older.