John Mulaney made history in Chicago.
The comedian became the first comedian to ever perform at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, on Saturday night. And the hometown hero did it in front of a sold-out crowd by bringing some of his famous friends along for the monumental night.
“How did this happen?” asked a bearded David Letterman as he took center stage to wild cheers and applause. “What, are the Beatles here tonight, ladies and gentlemen? This makes that Taylor Swift wedding look like a student film.”
Letterman wasn’t the only surprise Mulaney had in his back pocket for the Mister Whatever tour stop. He invited Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy as an opener, and the 89-year-old played a short set while audience members took their seats. Guy is currently on tour himself with stops this month in Toronto, New York, Michigan, Kansas and Missouri.
Richard Kind, Mulaney’s longtime good friend and sidekick on the Netflix live variety talk show Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney, acted as the night’s emcee and appeared on stage with a “Mayor” sash. Kind welcomed Mulaney’s pal and former Saturday Night Live colleague Fred Armisen, who performed a comedy set that featured some musical numbers.
Then came Letterman who had the task of welcoming Mulaney to the stage. The two had spent some quality time together recently as Mulaney appeared as a guest at Letterman’s May show at Hollywood’s Montalban Theatre as part of the Netflix is a Joke Festival. Before that, Letterman had also appeared on Mulaney’s Everybody’s Live.
Mulaney delivered a well-received and lengthy set — he “blew the non-existent roof off Wrigley Field,” praised Slash Film’s Ethan Anderton — that featured anecdotes about his life with wife Olivia Munn and their two children, Malcolm and Mei, and the beauty of their family.
For months ahead of the performance, Mulaney had been teasing the stop. “I’m very unabashedly excited about it,” he told Jimmy Kimmel during a stop on his late night talk show. He also joked to Jenna Bush Hager and guest host Matt Rogers during a Today show stop that “if the wind is right in Wrigleyville,” the sound from the show will carry to surrounding streets. And per a video shared on TikTok, he was right.
When it was all said and done, Mulaney seemed floored by the scene. “Every Chicago thing in me tells me to stop bowing, but I’m going to enjoy the moment,” he said as he closed the show. “Thank you very much for being with us tonight. Another round of applause please for Fred Armisen, Buddy Guy, Richard Kind and Ball State’s David Letterman. Words can’t describe how cool this is.”
Mulaney’s Mister Whatever tour rolls on through 2027. See below.
