Todd Rexx and Sean Savoy: Washington area comics are home for a spell

If you like your comedy a little twisted and a lot raw, there’s a show for you Sunday night.

Two of the Washington area’s rising comics will appear at the new Riot Act Comedy Theater before heading back to their respective careers, far from the nation’s capital.

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(Courtesy Sean Savoy) - Sean ‘Joxe’ Savoy, one of the rising east coast comics, will open for Todd Rexx's Riot Act Comedy Theater show from Aug. 17-21.

Comic T. Rexx (Todd Rexx), who grew up in Silver Spring, is fresh from headlining a six- month gig at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas (private jets and a lux suite) and is talking with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about being a sidekick and writer on a possible new reality show starring the six-time NBA most valuable player.

Performing with him is Sean Savoy, born and raised in Columbia. Come September, Savoy will head out on the road to feature for frenetic funnyman Pablo Francisco on his tour of Australia. Savoy also has a cameo in Francisco’s hour-long Comedy Central special “They Put It Out There,” debuting Nov. 5.

“Todd and Sean were natural choices out of the gate,” said John Xereas, a partner at Riot Act Comedy Theater in Penn Quarter, which opened two weeks ago. “Not only are they best friends, they complement each other’s work.”

Rexx, 40ish, loves to come home. Not only does he have family in the area, but District audiences are “edgy and smart, which makes my job easy.”

Rexx said he had a kid-friendly suburban childhood and spent entire days playing with kids in Sligo Creek Park, directly behind his house. His dad, Paul, now deceased, was an architect and city planner, and mom Marguerite was the chief editor for Tom Daschle’s Democratic Policy Committee.

“Yeah, it was really rough. The mean streets of Silver Spring,” he joked. “Sometimes, the gardener didn’t show up or a car didn’t start so we only had two.”

Don’t be fooled, easily offended people. Don’t be thrown off by the nice clothes, the private jet or the comfy suburban upbringing. Rexx exploits all subjects, especially race and stereotypes. He grew up as the adopted, biracial child of a Caucasian couple, so there’s little that is off-limits for the comic who even pokes fun at his light complexion. “Who’s gonna be afraid of Beige Todd in a fight?” he asks his audiences.

His stories onstage include being a guest at the Special Olympics (the torch never makes it to the lighting ceremony podium), having his grandmother think he’s a burglar in the night (she’s naked) and the quickest way to win a fistfight (it involves dropping your pants). His physical comedy magnifies his wit. This is not a deadpan guy who stands in the middle of the stage all night.

The veteran comic, who now lives in Los Angeles, may be on the verge of getting more than his 15 minutes of fame. His act in Vegas was held over for six months last year. He regularly tours with Bill Bellamy (host of “Last Comic Standing” and “Who’s Got Jokes”), appeared twice on HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam” (with which he has toured extensively) and has a growing number of TV credits, including “The Tonight Show.”

Not to mention that dinner he just had with Abdul-Jabbar in Venice Beach to discuss the 7-foot-2 basketball legend’s new TV show. “They want me as his comedic sidekick to get him into trouble,” Rexx said. They also are considering Rexx as writer on the show, currently in development.

Hometown comic Savoy, 36, has a more playful style. Onstage, he wonders what it would be like to wake up gay (he breaks into a show tune), why the black guy is always the first to be killed in Freddy Krueger movies and how hard it would be to be an inner-city super hero.

He credits Rexx as a longtime mentor who “pushed me to find true funny” and “follow through with my jokes.”

Rexx brought him on extensive standup tours through the Netherlands, Japan and Guam in 2002 and 2004. Pablo Francisco has used Savoy since 2004. As a result, Savoy has appeared at many of the Improv and Funnybones comedy clubs in the country, and he toured Britain, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, performing in 1,000-seat theaters. Savoy will hit the road with the in-your-face comic again in late September to head Down Under.

“I don’t think Sean knows how funny he is,” said Francisco’s publicist, Debbie Keller. “It’s a testimonial that Pablo sees talent in Sean and enjoys working with him that he takes him on tour all the time.”

Savoy also has a cameo in Francisco’s upcoming Comedy Central special, his second.

“I learn things from Pablo all the time,” Savoy said. “He’s taught me to how to have a good time onstage and to remember that people come to a comedy show for release.”

His mother and father, both educators, “always thought I was a little crazy growing up.” His mother, Doris Jean Hurd Savoy, was the District’s teacher of the year in 2002 and appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Dad Rodney Savoy is a retired math teacher who worked for Howard Country Schools.

Right now, Savoy is enjoying the momentum and the roar of his audiences. “I measure my own success by my longevity and the fact that I get to do what I love.”

T. Rexx and Sean Savoy

Sunday night at 8:30 at Riot Act Comedy Theatre, 801 E St. NW. 202-697-4900. www.riotact.com.