DANIA BEACH – Matt Durndak recently achieved a new status.
Meet the new Mayor of Hialeah.
At the March 8 Nadeem Awad and Friends show held at the Dania Improv, host Brian Coronado joked onstage that he’d like to see a reality show called “The Real Housewives of Hialeah.”
He then brought Durndak to the stage for a guest performance, listing the Los Angeles-based comedian’s credits as part of the introduction.
Upon taking the stage Durndak proudly announced one credit Coranado neglected to mention: an appearance on the fictional show “Real Housewives of Hialeah.”
The line drew enough laughter to push the concept a little further, resulting in a hilarious four-minute impromptu bit about being from that suburban Miami city that included his improbable rise to power.
“I think I felt comfortable declaring I was the mayor of Hialeah, and they seemed to be OK with that,” Durndak said.
Durndak has yet to accomplish much in his new role, but did admit being a mayor is “exhausting.”
“I welcome the support of the nonresidents of Hialeah supporting me as the mayor of other people in Hialeah,” Durndak said.
Durndak has ties to South Florida, including a stint as a resident of the Miami area. Depending on the time of day, Dania Beach is about a 40 minute drive from Hialeah. Culturally, it seems much further than that.
Like many neighborhoods in and around Miami, Hialeah has a distinct Latin feel.
When a member of the audience asked (inaudibly on the video) for Durndak to prove he’s from Hialeah by speaking Spanish, Durndak replied with a mix of Spanish and English that provided one of the night’s funniest lines.
“Yo soy Mayor of Hialeah,” Durndak deadpanned.
The laugh elicited by that line has Durndak considering the inclusion of more multilingual bits in his sets when appropriate.
“I will continue to pretend like I know some Spanish,” Durndak said.
Durndak is back in Florida this week. Perhaps modesty prevented him from boasting about being the Headman of Hialeah during Saturday’s headlining performance at a “Don’t Tell Comedy” show in Davie. Durndak will have another opportunity to brag about his new role on Saturday at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre in Sarasota, but probably won’t.
To Durndak’s credit, he’s being judicious about both pronouncing and wielding his fictional power.
“Maybe if I perform close enough to Hialeah I might,” Durndak said. “Perhaps the Miami Improv would be an ideal place to declare my mayoralship.”
