N
ick Offerman is known for two things: starring as the manly Ron Swanson, the anti-government, meat- and breakfast-loving foil to Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope on the just-concluded
Parks and Recreation , and for being married to the lovely Megan Mullally — Emmy-winner for her turn as Karen Walker on
Will & Grace and Swanson’s vindictive ex-wife Tammy Two on
Parks and Rec .
Besides working in TV, Offerman has toured colleges with his American Ham show, written two humor books, starred in indie films and currently operates Offerman Woodshop in Los Angeles, where he and a team craft everything from baseball bats to pencil holders. Basically, he’s a modern day Renaissance man. Offerman and Mullally have worked together before, but their Summer of 69: No Apostrophe tour is the first time they’ve teamed up for a national tour, which includes pontificating about their solid 12-year marriage and revealing how they each lost their virginities (not to each other, obviously).
Ahead of the Taft Theatre stop this weekend, Offerman spoke with CityBeat about his wife (“It feels like I’m sharing a stage with Ethel Merman, if she was really good looking.”); how he hasn’t had enough time to work in his woodshop (“I just long for the good old days of getting to make sawdust for weeks on end.”); and his singing (“People no longer throw rotten cabbage at me, which feels like a terrific triumph.”).
CityBeat: Have you ever been to Cincinnati?
Nick Offerman: I have, but not in any substantial way, though. I’ve spent a lot of time recently in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. I’m coming across and knocking down the cities of Big Shoulders, the old Rust Belts. I’m very excited to eat up Cincinnati.
CB: As you probably know, the city’s nickname is “Porkopolis.”
NO: That had not escaped my notice.
CB: And we also have a lot of bourbon, which you love.
NO:
People get thirsty, and they need to wash down the pork.
CB: You should check out Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar, across the river in Covington, Ky.
NO: That doesn’t sound bad at all. In fact, I recently went to Kentucky to interview Wendell Berry for my book that I have coming out [Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America’s Gutsiest Troublemakers] and that was when I learned that part of Cincinnati resided in Kentucky.
CB: Yes, Covington is right on the border of Cincinnati. It’s really nice over there.
NO: You’re the Brooklyn of Cincinnati.
CB: And, to blow your mind, the Roebling Bridge was built by the same guy who designed the Brooklyn Bridge.
NO: Wait a second; is this a Freemason conversation?
CB: What was the impetus in doing the tour?
NO: We had both been touring quite a bit and having a lot of fun on our own. I was touring my American Ham show, and she was touring with her band Nancy and Beth. Sometimes we’d get together and open for each other, and that was the best because we had all the fun of touring but we got to be together. We simply said, “How can we have our cake and eat it, too?” And, “By god, we just need to write a show for the two of us so we could tour as a couple.”
CB: Give me a little preview of the tour.
NO: It’s a very ribald yet romantic portrayal of our marriage. It’s sort of a folksy showbiz couple show that’s peppered with songs — some of them are quite lovely and some of them are quite silly. You will have a very clear picture of our sexual history by the time the evening is done. And there’s a few big surprises as well. You may see some talents displayed that you would not have suspected of me. Through song and story we will reveal the eldritch machinations by which a marriage can achieve the ultimate strength.
CB: Do you have any pre-show rituals?
NO: Not really. When we work live, both in theater or in this sort of humorous performances where we’re playing ourselves mostly, we generally kind of maintain our focus. Before the show it’s pretty boring. We drink some tea and try to be real cool.
CB: Do you have any tour rider demands?
NO: No, again, it’s pretty boring. We ask for water, unsweetened black tea and, if available, some peyote buttons. But it doesn’t really affect the show. They tend to kick in toward the closing numbers. It’s more of a getting set up for post-show good times.
CB: I have to ask you about Indiana. You first banned playing in Indianapolis, but then you changed your mind after the governor tried to fix the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
NO: Our fans were very vocal. I felt terrible about that, and since [the government] made a gesture in the right direction, we then said, “OK, we will play Indiana but we’ll donate our proceeds to the Human Rights Campaign. And Governor Pence, you’ve made a step in the right direction, please keep walking.”
CB: Did you wrestle with the decision to cancel the show?
NO: It wasn’t too difficult because it was so clearly the right thing to do. I know there’s a lot of complicated human elements to that whole story of religious freedom, but in terms of being for or against discrimination, it’s a black and white question. It’s a no-brainer. So that made it easy to make the difficult decision.
CB: Yeah, but some of your Twitter fans were upset, saying they shouldn’t be punished just because they live in Indiana but are against the RFRA.
NO: To me, that was a rather misguided response. Anyone who would voice that response, I think, is missing the entire point of the issue and the gesture. No one ever said that Indiana is bad, or that the Hoosiers or the citizens of Indiana are bad. An example was simply being made, and unfortunately they reside in the state where the example is being made. What I replied to anyone who asked me was simply, “It’s not me you should be complaining to. The point of this is you should then take your complaints to your legislation, who has made a real boner of a move here.”
CB: Good for you.
NO: I’m just tickled pink that this conversation is even happening. I think it’s a wonderful thing that it’s finally becoming a national issue that we should treat every citizen fairly, no matter what our religious storybook tells us.
CB: Switching gears now…
NO:
How hilarious.
CB: What’s the best sex advice you’ve ever received or have heard?
NO: [long pause] I think it was Eddie Murphy who said the key to mastering performing oral sex on a woman is to recite the alphabet until you find a letter that gets a reaction, then focus on that letter.
CB: Are you OK with your legacy being Ron Swanson?
NO: Yes, there’s a lot of worse things people could say about me than I got to play a real swell part on a show that people loved. If I never get to have another role, I’ll be OK having had that one.
Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally perform as part of their SUMMER OF 69: NO APOSTROPHE tour at the Taft Theatre on Saturday. More info and tickets: tafttheatre.org.
This article appears in May 6-12, 2015.