Tim Murray isn’t just a comedian — he’s a full-blown comedy multihyphenate, blending musical theater, sharp-witted sketches and a flair for storytelling that’s all his own. From Sandusky, Ohio, Murray has turned his Midwestern upbringing into comedy gold, going viral with his Real Housewives parodies and earning critical acclaim with his live musical comedy show Witches. Now, he’s hitting the road (literally) in Wish You Were Queer, a new reality series in collaboration with Trixie Mattel premiering May 22 and available for streaming on OutTV.
Ahead of the premiere of Wish You Were Queer, Murray opened up about his path from small-town Ohio to the national comedy scene
Cleveland Magazine: How did your journey into comedy and performance begin?
Tim Murray: I started doing stand-up back in fourth grade at my elementary school talent show, and I was always writing — whether it was scripts or little bits of comedy. I did more stand-up in high school at another talent show, but it took a long time for me to really come back to it. Around the same time, I also got into theater and comedy shows. I remember being in The Importance of Being Earnest and always trying to get a laugh; that was always my goal. When I moved to New York, I took improv classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade and eventually found my way back to stand-up after I turned 30.
CM: What was the first moment you decided to combine music and comedy?
TM: I’ve always loved musical theater and musical comedy, and when I got to New York, a lot of my friends were combining the two art forms. Groups like Baby Wants Candy, who improvise full musicals based on audience suggestions, really inspired me, and I got very involved with them. I also had friends like Cole Escola, Catherine Cohen and Matt Rogers doing their own comedy shows with original songs, and I realized this was the combination of everything I loved. It really took off for me when I wrote my solo show Witches, which I debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
RELATED: 10 Cleveland TikTok Celebrities to Follow
CM: Coming from Sandusky, Ohio, how has your Midwest background shaped your comedic voice?
TM: Growing up in Ohio, it gave me this perspective that people are good and we should all be kind to each other. At the same time, my parents gave me this funny mix of perspectives. My mom is a total people-pleaser and super positive, while my dad is super sarcastic and cynical. That balance definitely influenced my comedic voice. And now, after living in all these different corners of the country like New York, L.A., and Florida, I’ve had a chance to clash those cultures together in my comedy.
Courtesy Nick Larson
CM: When did you first start the Real Housewives TikTok series?
TM: I first had the idea because I love reality TV. It makes me laugh and lets me turn my brain off and just have fun. Once I got into it, I realized all these shows were covering places like New York, Miami and Beverly Hills, and I thought it would be funny to cover a city I actually grew up near. The first one I ever did was The Real Housewives of Akron, probably six or seven years ago. I thought it would just be a one-off. Honestly, the video didn’t do that well, and I figured that was it. But this past December, when I had to move back to Ohio to be with my family, I told myself to soak up as much material as I could while I was there. That’s when The Real Housewives of Sandusky, Ohio was born. Most of the time when I’ve found success in comedy, it’s been with really niche ideas that I don’t expect anyone to care about, and it turns out way more people love Sandusky than I realized. When that video went viral, I realized there was something there, so I kept going. I did Cleveland next and just kept going.
RELATED: Remembering Cleveland’s Viral TikTok Moments
CM: Tell us about your new show, Wish You Were Queer, with Trixie Mattel?
TM: In my new series, my comedy partner Michael Henry and I pitch the idea of doing a stand-up special to Trixie Mattel. She tells us, "You're funny in L.A., but are you funny everywhere else?" So she sends us off in an RV across middle America to find out. We travel from Columbus to Louisville to Nashville, Atlanta, Pensacola and New Orleans, and each city is its own episode where we test out our comedy for a new crowd. Sometimes we kill, sometimes we bomb — and that’s part of the fun. Along the way, we’re also gathering new material and getting a feel for what queer life looks like in the rest of the country.
Courtesy Tim Murray
CM: When and why did you first debut your original comedy Tim Murray is Witches?
TM: Witches has kind of become my hour of musical comedy. It’s a showcase of everything I love to do: stand-up, musical improv, original comedy songs, crowd work and even a little bit of drag. I really wanted to come up with a themed comedy show, and I challenged myself to see if I could create a full Halloween-themed hour. I’m obsessed with the musical Wicked, and most queer people, I think, are obsessed with witches in general. Growing up watching Hocus Pocus, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Bewitched — there’s just something about witches that gay people gravitate toward. I ran with that idea, and it started sparking memories of growing up in Ohio, playing X-Men or Power Rangers but secretly wanting to play witches instead and feeling like, because I was a boy, I couldn’t. That feeling became the throughline of the show, so it’s about growing up in a small town, wanting so badly to be openly yourself, but feeling like if you did, there would be a witch hunt. It’s about realizing the parts of you people told you were wrong or bad are actually special. I'm still touring Witches every fall season, and my goal is to eventually have it produced as a full special on T.V.
CM: Do you prefer performing live or creating sketches for TikTok?
TM: That's such a good question. They're totally different. What I always say about online comedy is that it has to be relatable. It has to be something that people find true. But live comedy is 10 times harder, because it has to be relatable and true and then have a very unique point of view and twist. If somebody doesn't like a TikTok video, they just scroll away. But if somebody is not laughing when they're five feet in front of you, you feel it. You're really very aware. Comedy is subjective, so what's great about the internet is a lot of people can find something that I do funny and share it with their friends, but live comedy, you have to try to make it as objective as possible by trying to make as many people in the room laugh. There's really nothing like performing live. Because it's so much harder, it's also so much more thrilling.
CM: Who are some of your biggest inspirations in the LGBTQ+ comedy or performance world?
TM: Definitely Cole Escola, who’s blowing up right now with their play Oh, Mary! It’s this hilarious queer take on Mary Todd Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln. Cole has always just done their own thing, doing what they think is funny, and that’s so inspiring to me. I also came up doing improv a little bit with Bowen Yang, who I, of course, think is hysterical. What Bowen is doing on Saturday Night Live — bringing queer sketches and perspectives that apply to us — is exactly what so many of us dream of. And then, of course, Wanda Sykes has always been a huge inspiration to me. She’s such a stand-up legend.
CM: What’s been your most memorable performance?
TM: My mom came to see Witches in Edinburgh, and I sold out the room with 120 seats. Which was really a crazy feeling in Scotland. I don't know anybody there, so the word of mouth of the show had gotten popular enough to sell out.
For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.
Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, publishing 12 times a year with immersive features, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.
