Kevin Kan | Illustration Editor

When comedian Sam Morril was on tour in 2022, the host of “Ozarks Live!” — a local news program in Springfield, Missouri — asked him about opening for Adam Sandler: “Do you think your comedy is similar in style to his?” 

“No, he’s talented … I’m literally a deadpan in the pocket,” Morril said. 

Contrary to his self-deprecating words, Morril is more than just an irreverent comic. In today’s hyperactive stand-up landscape buzzing with social media and ever-changing trends, Morril slides into a recliner with a glass of his own Bodega Cat whiskey. That’s right — Morril owns a whiskey brand that is smooth with a bite — just like his comedic style. 

Morril boasts five comedy specials, performed on America’s Got Talent, and even played the comedian in the “Joker’s” open mic scene. But the born-and-raised New York comic was never simply handed the mic — Morril and his comedy friends were constantly proving themselves. 

“I definitely didn’t think of us as industry darlings … There’d always be the ‘hot comics list,’ like, look out for these comics. We were never on those lists,” he said. 

But for Morril, the little things kept him going. 

“At first you’re kind of bummed, then you’re like, well, my friends think I’m funny, and that’s all that matters … You get enough to stick around. You have to look for what victories mean something to you.” 

But what is this comedic world that Morril beckons a crowd into? As he created his own major in Ancient Greek Comedy at NYU, it’s fair to wonder, is there a thesis to his stand-up?

“The goal is 100% just to make people laugh, but … what is a joke but a relief, a release of tension? Well, a more controversial subject is gonna create more tension, right? If I say the name ‘Hitler,’ people are like, ‘Okay, where’s this going?’ Unless it’s Kanye West, in which case we know where it’s going…” he said with a wry smile.

Morril has spent about two decades doing stand-up, and in doing so has developed a forceful voice that teeters on the line of “too far,” yet consistently grounds itself as charming.

“It’s not like you’re building a character in a video game. It kind of has to be more like you just let it shape and mold. It’s gonna come together how it comes together, so don’t think too much about it.”

For Morril, ascending the notoriously unstable ladder to a career in comedy has been a journey. But he’s the first to admit there is no shame in asking for guidance.

“People were young once, and people needed help once … Don’t be scared to be like, ‘Hey, what do I do?’ People don’t mind being asked that. And people do want to help.” 

While Morril may effacingly claim he’s worlds away from Adam Sandler’s triple threat-style, his own talents are not limited to the stage either. Morril is currently working on scripts and has aspirations to act in his own work. But he recognizes the challenges these new art forms bring.

“I like the editing process of stand-up, where I kind of know if it’s funny or not. Like I can kind of run it through the bud in New York, freaking Texas, and Florida … I take it all over, and I’m like, ‘Oh this works everywhere, this is good,’” Morril said. “With a script or a book, I think it always scared me, the idea of having no feedback.” 

But while Morril is making the leap to film, his specialty is being a comedian’s comedian: a comic who loves the craft. 

“I’m more interested in the early process of the jokes … I’m more interested in seeing how they’re conceived than, kind of, what they become. Because I think the hardest part is having that incredible observation or that really original premise.” 

Morril loves film noir: a dark, post-World War II film genre characterized by crime and detective stories often with a cynical tone and low-key environment. In this style of film he sees the same allure that lives in stand-up comedy — an art that transports you. 

“I think the language in old noir and old movies is almost like stand-up, in that it takes a second, but once you’re locked into the rhythm, you’re kind of like, ‘Oh wow, this is really cool. This is like a different world’ … I think you just have to give yourself to it … but once you’re in, you’re in.” 

As Morril makes his way west from New York, he’s ready for a stop in the Lou. 

“I like St. Louis … Maybe we’ll get some Emu’s [sic] or some shit … some of that provel pizza.”

When Morril opened for Adam Sandler, he felt he was worlds away from the comedy icon’s energy-filled, goofball talent. But it’s Morril’s ability to stand back, and instead draw you in, that will continue to set him apart. 

Sam Morril’s “The Errors Tour” comes to the The Pageant on April 16.