Life is kind of crazy for Greg Warren. The veteran stand-up comic, who returns to Cleveland for shows Jan. 15 through 18 at Hilarities 4th Street Theatre, is enjoying a new level of success. “I’m in Kansas City now doing the longest run of shows — 14 — of my career,” said Warren, during a recent phone interview. “It just sort of worked out. I opened for Nate Bargatze back in September at an arena where they announced that I was going to be here, so people started buying tickets, and they started adding shows. “It kinda worked out to be something pretty cool, but nobody could’ve envisioned this. When you’re in front of that many people, good things have been happening. I’d say 95 percent of the people here are because of that night with Nate.” A native of St. Louis, Warren said his Midwestern background and storytelling ability often garner comparisons to Bob Newhart, who he admits is an idol. The funnyman said he’s working on material that will eventually become the follow-up to his latest special, “The Champ,” which was produced by Bargatze and premiered on the latter’s Nateland YouTube channel. Released last summer, the project found Warren looking back to his collegiate wrestling days, which, he said, he covered only from a surface level early on in his comedy career. On “The Champ,” he dove deeper. That’s also what he’s doing with his current material, which finds him returning to his time spent playing clarinet in the high school marching band — a topic he briefly discussed onstage years ago. Another topic Warren is excited to hit on involves what is, perhaps, the most banal of subject matters. “I got a bunch of material about chairs,” he said. “I wanted to take a real controversial subject and dissect it, do a deep dive on it. “I just like a sturdy wooden chair that’s built well, feels like it can hold me low to the ground. I don’t care for a high-top chair. I don’t like an over-cushioned chair. I spend a lot of time talking about how I’m not a big fan of La-Z-Boys. I talk about some of the worst chairs and the best chairs that are out there.” Considering his topics range from playing in the band to chairs and even peanut butter — he’s a fan of creamy — it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn Warren is a clean comic. “For probably the last 10 years, you could have a kid or your grandma at my show, and it’s fine,” he said. “That sort of led me to doing a lot of stuff, with this past year being the best year of my career, really. Nate has a lot to do with that. “I have a podcast that’s on Nate’s network. I’ve been on Nate’s podcast a lot. I’ve opened for him. I did ‘The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon’ a couple of weeks ago. And I’m working with Nate on another network TV project that comes out in February, so it’s pretty cool.” (That endeavor is “The Greatest Average American,” an ABC game show hosted by Bargatze that celebrates the “perfectly average” lifestyle. It is set to premiere on Feb. 25.) “For probably the last 10 years, you could have a kid or your grandma at my show, and it's fine,” comedian Greg Warren says of working clean. “That sort of led me to doing a lot of stuff, with this past year being the best year of my career, really. (Courtesy of Levity Live) At Hilarities, Warren will headline an all-ages show that’s scheduled for 3 p.m. Jan. 17. “It took us a while to develop, but, basically, it’s a heightened version of my material with a little more energy,” he said. “There are some things — like I normally talk about insurance cards or health insurance premiums in my act — that kids don’t want to hear about. “The thing that we’ve really made special is at the end of the show, we call kids up on stage, interview them and let them tell a joke if they want. People love it. I don’t do (that) show that often, only 10 times a year. But I’m really proud of that show — it’s a lot of fun.” Greg Warren When: Jan. 15 through 18 (times vary). Where: Hilarities 4th Street Theatre, 2035 E. Fourth St., Cleveland. Tickets: $24 to $36. Info: 216-736-4242 or pickwickandfrolic.com. ...read more read less