Sebastian Maniscalco

On Saturday, July 9th the City National Grove of Anaheim presents the hilarious Sebastian Maniscalco.

Saying what we’re all thinking has always been Sebastian Maniscalco’s specialty.

Except when he says it, it’s a whole lot funnier and that has fans across North America showing up in droves for his shows and millions tuning in for his network specials.

After over a dozen sold-out performances in New York City’s comedy circuit in the last year alone, the Chicago-born-and bred turned Los Angeles native tapped Manhattan as the backdrop for his newest comedy special on Showtime, recently filmed at the historic Beacon Theatre and slated to air late summer. This highly-anticipated new hour of skepticism follows up Sebastian’s 2015 Showtime standup special and DVD “Aren't You Embarrassed?” in which he offered up his witheringly sarcastic and exasperated take on modern behavior and etiquette. As the Dallas Observer noted, “Much of the material for his three comedy specials and tours comes from his astonishment with modern society’s unspoken rules and the juxtaposition of current culture against his upbringing in a hardworking, 'half-Sicilian, half-Italian' immigrant family.” Sebastian shares, “Those values ... have been a catalyst for my comedy. I’m like, 'Wow, I guess a lot of people didn’t have this type of upbringing' … that old world technique of, you know, nothing’s given to you, you’ve gotta work for everything you’ve done.”

Distinguished by The New York Times as a comic with his “own kind of panache,” Sebastian has taken on everything from selfies that he calls “lonelies” (“Do you know how alone you have to be to have 838 photos of yourself in your bathroom?”) to online restaurant reviews (“Who’s got the time to write an 18 page essay on asparagus?”) to airport check-ins (“I’m taking out a boot…a sock…a toothpaste…does anyone know what two pounds is?”).

Sebastian grew up in the middle class suburbs of Chicago (“The world doesn’t match my upbringing”), prides himself on a work ethic his father instilled in him when he began working at the age of eight, as an altar boy at funerals during his lunch break to contribute to the family. He’s now hard at work on his first memoir expected in 2016, titled “Where You Wanna Eat?” Combining his two favorite things: comedy and food, the book will explore Sebastian’s dining experiences and dos and don’ts from a lifetime as a diner, waiter and keen observer of human nature through a series of his most memorable meals.

Still sporting his Chicago accent despite leaving the Windy City in 1998 to follow his dream in Los Angeles, Sebastian began paying his comedy dues by night playing his brand of comedy in bars and bowling alleys while working as a waiter at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. He eventually broke into the national spotlight with a 20-city tour in support of his one-hour Comedy Central DVD Special. Yet, it wasn’t until Sebastian captured the attention of award-winning actor and entertainer Vince Vaughn who selected him to be one of four featured comedians in the critically acclaimed film “Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show” that his comedy career began to explode.

Since then, the 2014 American Comedy Award nominee for Best Club Comedian has established an avid fan following via national late night television appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “Conan,” and more as well as an appearance in Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” Sebastian is also a popular guest on networks such as Showtime and Comedy Central and the ground-breaking podcast “WTF with Marc Maron” in addition to “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast and starring in his own wildly popular “The Pete and Sebastian Show” podcast every Friday night.

2016 through 2017 will also find Sebastian making his move to the big screen with several major motion picture appearances, including a voice-over role in the animated feature "Nut Job 2," a New Line Feature comedy "The House" starring Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler (directed by Andrew Cohen), and the independent drama "Cruise" directed by Rob Siegel and produced by Jeremy Renner.