Nashville comic makes Apollo appearance

By Ron Wynn

NASHVILLE, TN — One of Nashville’s most popular comedians is enjoying a personal first this week. Renard Hirsch will make his first appearance at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem Thursday night at 9 p.m. Hirsch, who says the date was 15 years in the making, acknowledges feeling proud but nervous as well. ““Exciting! It was surreal!,” Hirsch told the Tribune. “The history of the Apollo alone is just something amazing. The crowd, the log, the entertainers! The comics that have performed there are some of the most iconic comics in history.”

“Harlem already had a special place in my heart. One of the 1st plays I did at TSU was Blues for An Alabama Sky and I played a doctor who loved to “Let the Good Tiiiiiiiimes Roll” and it took place in Harlem.”

“Our Directors made us do some heavy research on the city and it’s history to make sure we did it justice. I did so much research that it led me to doing a one man show on Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a minister, congressman, and civil rights leader from Harlem.”

“As a kid I grew up loving comedy,” Hirsch concluded. “All forms: sketch, standup, movies. I just loved to laugh and it was always an amazing feeling. I never in a million years thought I would be doing it as a career. “

Renard Hirsch will appear at the Apollo Theater Thursday night at 10 pm.