You may remember comedian Mark Curry from his lead role in the ’90s sitcom Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper. But the Oakland native’s roots are a lot tougher than that show let on.

Curry’s stand-up act owes a lot to Richard Pryor, who often took shots at the Man hassling black folks. “The police don’t pull you over right away,” says Curry. “They follow you for like 15 blocks and you’re like, Damn! You just want to jump out of the car and say, ‘Give me a ticket! Stop messing with me!’”
Thu., May 3, 7 p.m.; May 4-5, 7:30 & 10:15 p.m.; Sun., May 6, 7:30 p.m.

This article appears in May 2-8, 2007.