WILLIAMSBURG— Rev Run is coming to Williamsburg as part of the 2025 Ampersand International Arts Festival and will take part in a conversation with comedian Asher Perlman March 22 at 7 p.m.
“I’m really excited to talk to him. He’s obviously an icon and someone I’ve known about for my entire life. It’s really surreal to sit down with someone who has lived in my headphones for so long. It will be fun and interesting to talk to him in person,” the Emmy-nominated, WGA award-winning, Peabody-award-winning Perlman said.
The frontman of seminal hip-hop group RUN DMC, Rev has sold tens of millions of records worldwide and is widely credited for ushering rap music into mainstream culture. An inductee of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, RUN DMC was named the greatest hip-hop artist of all time by both MTV and VH1.
Rev’s conversation will explore his career and the roles he has had over the years, from reverend to hip-hop artist. Perlman is looking forward to the evening.
“With someone like him, who has lived a thousand lives, every individual chapter could be a whole hour-long conversation. I’m excited to talk to him about RUN DMC of course, but also Run’s House, and his relationship with his religion, because he’s an actual reverend. He’s a published author. He wears so many hats so I’m excited to hear him talk about how he juggles the different aspects of his life and how someone who is kind of undefinable defines himself,” Perlman said.
Tickets for the conversation with Rev are still available through the festival’s website. The meet and greet with Rev is sold out.
Perlman also has his own place in the festival as a member of Like Minds, a comedy quiz show that takes the fact-filled fun of a pub quiz and combines it with the quick-witted comedy of an improv show. The show was created by Greg Hess, William & Mary Class of 2003.
Perlman, who is currently a cartoonist for The New Yorker and a writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, will appear at the festival for the first time.
“I truly don’t see this as giving back, I see it really that I get just as much out of it as any audience member does. I came up in live theater and engaging with the audience is what I’m all about. I love doing all types of shows,” Perlman said.
The Like Minds show is set to take place on March 21 at 8 p.m. in the Kimball Theater. Tickets for the show are $35 and can be purchased through the festival website.
After the Like Minds show, Perlman will be sticking around to autograph copies of his book “Well, This is Me.”
The Ampersand International Arts Festival continues throughout the week. The full lineup can be found at ampersand festival.com.