Pablo Francisco — and other characters — come to Comedy Off Broadway

Pablo Francisco started trying to find his comedic voice at a young age between videotaping the stand-up comedians on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” and going back and forth with his childhood friends making fun of each others’ parents. Now, as a long-time stand-up comedian, Francisco’s comedic voice is his own ... and a few dozen others you might recognize.

Francisco has made a name for himself in the comedy community as a masterful and rapid-fire impersonator of everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael J. Fox to Chris Rock and, most notably, the late legendary movie voiceover man Don LaFontaine, just to name a few. His knack for impressions combined with his material making fun of the silliness of pop culture, physical comedy and crazy energy on stage eventually led to an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” that went viral on YouTube before that was even really a thing, giving Francisco fans beyond the studio audience in Burbank or those watching at home.

“Someone goes up to me and says, ‘You’re big in Sweden.’ I said, ‘What?’” Francisco said.

It was one of several opportunities that came Francisco’s way — and continue to come his way — due to his unique talent. The Chilean-American comic moved from his home in Arizona to Los Angeles to turn his hobby into a career and make it in show business. What started off as getting a bit of commercial work eventually led to appearances as a featured player on the sketch comedy series MADtv in 1997 and a half-hour Comedy Central Presents special in 2000.

He followed that up by building a following both on stage and on screen, thanks to three one-hour stand-up specials (2004’s “Bits and Pieces,” 2006’s “Ouch!” and 2011’s “They Put It Out There”) and more appearances on sketch comedy shows like “Mind of Mencia” hosted by comedian Carlos Mencia and “Frank TV” hosted by fellow popular impersonator Frank Caliendo.

Francisco said while the art of impersonation is never in danger of truly going out of fashion in comedy, there is something that separates performers like himself from the rest of the pack.

“No one has pizazz anymore,” he said. “Nowadays, it’s very difficult because no one is different. A lot of people do impersonations, and that’s great, but (audiences) want more. Something organic behind it.”

As someone whose specialty revolves around mimicry, Francisco said he continues incorporate new impersonations (he’s fine-tuning his Donald Trump, at the moment) while making sure his material doesn’t veer too far into topics that are too personal or political. In fact, the show that he is bringing to Lexington at Comedy Off Broadway Thursday through Sunday is a preview of something that could be coming to the small-screen.

Francisco and long-time tourmate and animator Steve Kramer, a fellow impersonator, not only share the stage together; They are currently co-producers of a sketch comedy series in development with Netflix that combines comedy and cartoons.

“It’s a show that shouldn’t be taken seriously but it’s going to throw some issues in there,” Francisco said.

The show at Comedy Off Broadway will feature both Francisco and Kramer’s impersonation skills and showcase some of the animated sketches and bits they’ve put together. For a guy who has made his living in a timeless comedic art, almost two decades in, Francisco is ready to branch out.

“It’s going to be a different kind of show,” he said. “It’s all going to boil down to being a new element on the element chart.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Pablo Francisco — and other characters — come to Comedy Off Broadway."