About The Show

Caught in a lie because the bank he lies to is caught in a lie, and facing 225 years in Federal prison, the world’s greatest vacuum cleaner salesman represents himself at trial where he learns everyone has a machine to sell.

A story as powerful, funny and relevant as it is true, Mark Whitney’s award-winning, autobiographical, tragicomedy “Fool For A Client’ deftly, hilariously and intelligently explores the inherent tension between the Golden Rule and the Rule of Law, tolerance and zero tolerance, fear and freedom.

This tale of individualism and risk versus bureaucracy and control, centers around the epic ten year battle between a lousy student who makes $50,000 his first year out of high school selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door and the United States Government, represented by a seemingly endless array of insidious bankers, lawyers, tax collectors, FBI agents, politicians, judges, prosecutors, prison guards and probation officers.

“When I look at Bill Maher and Dennis Miller, my closest contemporaries in political satire, I see two guys doing the same thing: ‘We are good because we are we. They are bad because they are they.’ That’s a false premise and that’s a problem because satire isn’t about set-ups and punchlines, it’s about revealing truth.”

“The 2007 version of the show was essentially a series of humorous anecdotes lasting 45 minutes. Today, I pull a tight 90 minutes from three hours of material. ‘Fool’ is a multi-layered, continually updated story. Half the show is a set piece. The other half, is thrown out and replaced each year, in response to what’s happening in the world. With topical social and political commentary, you’re constantly writing. I pride myself on making the live show current up to and including the performance date,” Mark explains.

“When I started performing, I was happy just to get laughs. I mean, I’ve wanted to be a comedian since I first saw George Carlin on the old Flip Wilson Show when I was 15. Something funny happened along the way. The audience pushed me and pushed me to deliver more. I discovered that I had a fair amount of story talent. I was no longer satisfied just getting laughs. I’ve learned that being able to hear a pin drop in a room of 300 people, is as creatively fulfilling and meaningful as when the audience is doubled-over with laughter.”

“The benefit of touring the independent theatre circuit is that the festivals are interactive. Patrons review your show online in near real time. If the story goes off the rails, the audience tells you. Every audience is like a blind date and every performance is a workshop, making it impossible to fail. The way I look at it, every time I take the stage it’s a win; another opportunity to challenge the audience and myself creatively.”