APRIL 2, 2009 ISSUE
Patrick Combs’ $95,000 Joke
Man 1 Bank 0 Plays at the Hayes Center Saturday
This Saturday, April 4, TV personality Patrick Combs will bring his hilarious true-story-turned-one-man-play Man 1 Bank 0 to the Hayes Center in Blowing Rock. Tickets are $26 for adults and $14 for students.
Waiting backstage before a show in Asheville, writer and performer Patrick Combs admired a quote placed on the wall before he took the stage that read: “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn't.”
Penned by Mark Twain, the famous quote rang extremely true in the case of Combs, who for a laugh deposited a $95,000 check in an ATM run by First Interstate Bank. His actions led to a five-month escapade involving angry phone calls, a possible death threat, hundreds of emails (both ominous and supportive) and media coverage that included national television and worldwide press.
“I just thought that they would think it was funny,” said Patrick Combs. “They never really got the joke.”
Fortunately, audiences all over have been getting the joke thanks to Combs’ one-man show, Man 1 Bank 0. The uproarious play that chronicles the California native’s ordeal will hit the stage at Blowing Rock’s Hayes Performing Arts Center this Saturday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m.
Before the success of Man 1 Bank 0, Combs was the toast of parties, wowing guests with the ridiculous tale of his dealings with the bank—something to which virtually everyone can relate.
“For the first two years, 1996 and ’97, it was a cocktail story by demand. So for two years, I would tell that story in living rooms,” said Combs. “It never once seemed like a play to me.”
More than eight years later, Combs decided to take his story from the living room to the stage, where audiences and critics alike guffawed over his battle with the bank. Now after six years, dozens of sold-out shows around the world and rave reviews, Combs feels the show is at its best, most evolved point to date.
“Now it’s gone far beyond me just telling the story. Now it’s really a play,” said Combs. “This little show has taken me around the world. It all started with me putting a check in the bank.”
Arguably the most ironic twist is that Combs’ show has become a favorite of bankers across the country. Admittedly nervous about the first time he played a room full of the very people he was making fun of, Combs said bankers have turned out to be his biggest fans because of their intimate knowledge of the events, characters and procedures.
“Bankers love my show so much that they hire me to perform for rooms full of bankers. This is like my coup d’État,” said Combs. “Every night, they come up to me raving afterwards.”
As for the fake checks, Combs still periodically gets them in the mail, although he hasn’t recently decided to deposit them.
“I save them for a rainy day,” said Combs.
More information about Man 1 Bank 0 can be found on the show’s official website at www.man1bank0.com.
Tickets for Man 1 Bank 0 are $26 for adults and $14 for students and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 828-295-9627. Purchase tickets online by clicking to www.HayesCenter.org or in person at the Hayes Center box office. Special group rates are also available.
Want To Go?
Date: Saturday, April 4
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Hayes Performing Arts Center, Blowing Rock
Cost: $26 for adults/$14 for students
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
