Best of the Northland

Brian Matuszak

By day, Brian Matuszak is an instructor in the Department of Communication at UMD and a newspaper columnist. By night, he’s a pie-throwing mad man. Yup, Brian wears a lot of hats in the community … but the one most beloved to Reader readers is his Chicken Hat. Brian has been delighting Duluthians with his artful antics for years – going back to the 1980s when he joined the local comedy troupe, Colder by the Lake. And then there was Renegade Comedy Theater. And now there is Rubber Chicken. Why all this running around like a chicken with its head cut off? Brian has a pattern of “moving on” and starting a new troupe whenever the old one decides to stop doing Christmas shows. He LOVES doing Christmas shows. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Brian announced late last year that he was retiring. But not to panic! He’ll still be producing theater. It’s just that we won’t be seeing him on the stage. Hmmm. Maybe someone should suggest to the Rubber Chicken troupe that they stop doing Christmas shows. Brian, would it bring you back?