Elmer takes his brand of humor to Runway
PENN TWP Perennial Pittsburgh area comedian Bill Elmer is a Butler County resident now and will be appearing Nov. 26 at the Runway Restaurant.
Elmer moved to Butler a decade ago like others have, for the lower property taxes and space to raise a family.
“Look, I’m from McKees Rocks,” Elmer said. “I love living in an area where you can hear gunfire and it’s from deer hunting.”
The show may be taking place at a restaurant, but it’s not general fare.
“I play to the people,” Elmer said. “But really comedy in its essence is adult entertainment. I’m rude on stage but there’s no reason to be rude in public, unless it’s about airfare ...”
He’s been known to take shots at many sacred cows, including the Steelers.
Fun can be made of anything if the time is right, he maintains.
“Time and distance equals funny,” Elmer said.
Most Butler residents probably aren’t far enough removed from the Steelers to take jokes about them lightly, but Elmer said he doesn’t need to poke fun at the area’s favorite footballers at all.
“Butler is rife with stuff. I don’t even get to the Steelers,” Elmer said.
He described his material as “aggressive sillies” and “erotic ‘fun’tasies.”
“I like a response from the audience; I play off the audience,” he said. “Twenty to 40 percent of my stuff I make up on the spot.”
The two-hour show will include an opening act, possibly Pittsburgh comedian Mike Wysocki, whose style Elmer called “slacker/hip with a heaping of white trash thrown in.”
Elmer said he actually majored in journalism in college, but he finds more freedom in his current line of work.
“Now I just talk about what I want, and I don’t have a deadline,” he said.
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