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Tim Allen Celebrates Sold Out Shows in Return To the Stage After ‘Odd Year in the House’

Comedian and actor Tim Allen is reveling in his return to live performances after a pandemic-imposed “year in the house.”

The “Last Man Standing” star on Sunday posted a picture from the stage of the Opera House in Traverse City, Michigan. He performed his stand-up comedy show to sold-out crowds there two nights in a row.

“Opera House two sold out shows in Traverse City Michigan,” Allen tweeted Sunday. “Back on stage after this odd year in the house.”

Tim Allen Plays Sold-Out Shows in Traverse City

Detroit comedian Lowell Sanders opened for Allen, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported.

Michigan is comfortable turf for Allen. He has a summer home in Northport. And the movie and TV star attended both Central Michigan University and Western Michigan University. He graduated from the latter in 1976.

Allen’s show will mark the second performance at the Opera House since statewide coronavirus restrictions allowed it to return to full capacity.

City Opera House Executive Director Diana Baribeau told the Record-Eagle that theater management may require guests to wear masks to cut down on the potential spread of COVID-19. She said the uptick in cases of the delta variant may make that necessary.

“Because we had 300 new seats on the floor we did ask people to try and put some distance between them and somebody else,” she said. “With a sold-out show that’s going to be more difficult and may be why have to enforce wearing masks.”

Guests were reportedly asked to bring masks just in case.

Allen Says Goodbye to ‘Last Man Standing’

Tim Allen said goodbye to his long-running sitcom “Last Man Standing” this past May. The show had lasted for nine seasons, six on ABC and three on Fox. While the show’s cancellation was not a huge surprise to Allen, he nonetheless found it surprisingly hard to bid it farewell.

Going to set and counting down the days to the final scene was “horrible,” Allen told Fox News. He posted photos and video clips to his Twitter account throughout, documenting the process for fans.

Still, by June, Allen was counting his blessings, tweeting, “What a year. Today my family and I reminded each other we were inside this time last year and the area we live in was deserted except for a little ice cream store.”

As the pandemic waned a bit, Allen enjoyed the slow crawl back toward normalcy. But the comedian admitted he was very nervous about returning to the stage for the first time in over a year.

“Wonder if government agents will be policing comedy from the back of the house,” he joked.

On the cusp of his stand-up performances, Allen was feeling philosophical, quoting Ludwig Wittgenstein to explain why he loves being a stand-up comic.

Allen’s fans can only hope the comedian will enjoy his time onstage in Traverse City as much as he enjoyed performing in “Last Man Standing.”