Comedian John Hill Pops by D.C. for a “Wellness Check”
The wearer of many hats, John Hill gets to do what he does best performing his live solo musical comedy show.
John Arthur Hill has pretty much done it all in his fascinating and varied career in entertainment. Before co-hosting the morning radio show Andy Cohen Live with famous ex-boyfriend Cohen for the past decade on SiriusXM, along with his own The News with John Hill, the San Antonio native got his start performing onstage in musical theater, making his Broadway debut as Fender in the original cast of Hairspray.
He then followed Broadway shows and national tours with a move to Hollywood, where he danced over to television, becoming a producer on unscripted series like Project Runway, Step It Up and Dance, The A-List: Dallas, and Tori and Dean: Inn Love.
Asked to name his favorite gig in television so far, Hill responds quickly, naming none of the above. “Watch What Happens Live, for sure,” he says, referring to Cohen’s buzzed-about late-night talk show on Bravo.
“Because here’s the thing,” continues Hill, “I realized I hated working in reality television production. I hated it, and it wasn’t until I got more confident working on the radio show and performing this live show that I got happy in life.”
Hill’s autobiographical live solo musical Wellness Check, directed by his Tony-winning Hairspray co-star Marissa Jaret Winokur, offers the chance to get back to making and performing music, what he calls the main source of joy and light in his life.
In the show, which he debuted last year in New York, Hill also explores the dark passages in his life, like dealing with an addiction to tranquilizers and Xanax. He delves into his “teeny little visit to a mental institution,” and getting sober.
“There were some times during the pandemic that were rough,” he admits. “Yeah, I called the fire department on myself because I was lonely. And then it ended up, yeah, I did have to stop by at some sort of mental institution for a couple of hours.”
He talks candidly about it all onstage. “But don’t worry,” he insists. “It’s a comedy show.” In fact, Hill’s irreverent, even risqué sense of humor permeates the set. Audiences, he says, have particularly responded to his X-rated country tune, and laugh-out-loud comedy song “The Same Five Gays,” sung from the point of view of Hill’s homophobic (but relatable) chihuahua, Pete.
Apparently, Pete might not make it to Hill’s Wellness Check performance at D.C.’s Union Stage, but the pooch will be there in spirit. And Hill, who grew up writing songs, and who attended Pepperdine on a theater scholarship, will be there pouring his passion into what he truly loves.
After years spent working TV jobs he didn’t love, he’s experienced enough to know the difference. “When I started working at Watch What Happens Live, I said, ‘I will work on this show, but I only want to write jokes and come up with funny, silly stuff. That’s what I’m good at,'” he says. “I don’t want to go out into the field with a camera crew and produce something. It messes with my brain.”
Wellness Check plays D.C. on Wednesday, March 13, at Union Stage, 740 Water St. SW. Tickets are $25. Visit www.unionstage.com.
On Friday, March 15, catch Wellness Check in its monthly residency at The Green Room 42, inside the YOTEL Times Square, 570 Tenth Ave. in NYC. Visit www.thegreenroom42.com.
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