ROCHELLE —  Longtime variety comedian and actor Philip Earl “MooNiE” Johnson will be performing his new stand-up routine, ‘Get Me a Viking!’, on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Arts Center at 108 S. Main St. in Rochelle. The event is one night only. Tickets are $25 and are available at VCCTrochelle.org or at the door until it’s sold out.  

Johnson is best known as MooNiE, the despot clown that performs at festivals throughout the country for children and adults alike as a silent comedy experience. As an actor, his credits include productions at The Steppenwolf, Goodman, Writers, Royal George, Chicago Shakespeare, Court, Famous Door, American Theatre Company and The Paramount Theatre (Aurora) in Chicago as well as the national tour of Angels in America: Parts I and II. He has guest starred on Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Mind Games, Early Edition, The Untouchables, Kindred: The Embraced, and Underemployed as well as the film The Out of Towners.

Johnson said the standup comedy performance he’ll put on Jan. 25 will be different from his silent MooNiE performance. ‘Get Me a Viking!’ will adhere to traditional standup comedy norms and will focus on ideas and situations from Johnson’s life as an actor and comedian. Johnson said that the comedy act will be for ages of teens and up and won’t be for all ages like MooNiE is. 

“The show will be just stand-up comedy,” Johnson said. “I haven't really lived a regular life. Performing for so many years as a nonverbal European-style clown act, I've had a different experience with my life.”

The Lincoln Arts Center, which opened in recent years at the former site of Lincoln Elementary School, is the permanent home of the Vince Carney Community Theatre and a venue for community events. VCCT members have been attending Johnson’s shows for a long time and it will be his third performance in Rochelle. 

Johnson formed a bond with VCCT during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, I posted on Facebook when they postponed the Bristol Renaissance Fair,” Johnson said. “I told people if they couldn't come to me, I'd come to them. I booked over 60 shows in three months in the tri-state area of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. I did the shows for people in places like backyards. I did two of those for VCCT. I'd help them build the theater and return the favor. This will be my third show with VCCT.”

Before getting into comedy, Johnson’s main goal was to be an actor. In college, someone asked him to do a comedy show and he enjoyed it and began to write his own show. He found enjoyment in the craft and performed as MooNiE before also creating a normal standup routine. 

Being a comedian for 35 years has led Johnson to interesting places.

“I was once hired to pretend to be a crazy patient at a dental surgeon's office as a prank by the doctor's friends,” Johnson said. “It turned out to be very fun, and very funny. Comedy isn't just shows. It's just for whoever has a need for comedy. And everyone does. It's like a common denominator. It's a medium that requires work from an audience. You have to draw people out and make it happen. It creates endorphins and makes people feel good. Some people like to see comedy that is safe and that they have experience with. I've been performing for 35 years, so people come back and see me.”

Johnson said he chose to return to Rochelle and the Lincoln Arts Center because VCCT helped him during the pandemic and he did a show in town last year that sold out. He said he considers the VCCT group friends and is a fan of what they do, along with the Lincoln Arts Center venue. 

After 35 years of work, Johnson hasn’t lost his desire to bring good comedy to audiences. 

“I get up every day and write for hours,” Johnson said. “I love doing that. I never feel like it's a chore. I want to find and write funny material for people. I love acting and MooNiE. MooNiE gets to go in front of different audiences, and I have to keep it fresh and stay motivated. I've done over 11,000 performances as that character and I have to make sure I never take a show off.”