Mystic Luxury Cinemas has been the site of various live events over the years, from concerts to dance shows to a performance by The Amazing Kreskin.

For the first time, the theater will host standup comedy on Sept. 9.

The show, featuring comics based on Rhode Island, was the brainchild of Doug Ouimette, who lives in Coventry, R.I. Ouimette, whose day job is being a career education specialist at the University of Rhode Island, got into standup comedy more than four years ago and has since performed everywhere from the Comix Roadhouse in Mohegan Sun (where he competed in its Last Comix Standing) to The Comic Strip Live NYC.

His parents used to live in Ashaway, R.I., and Mystic was the only movie theater they would go to. They suggested Doug check it out. When he did, he recognized its potential as a standup comedy site.

“It’s a really cool place. They have new reclining seats with trays, and they have beer and wine there. It’s just a unique venue (and) being inside Olde Mistick Village is an awesome addition,” says Ouimette, who has also been producing comedy shows for the past two months.

He saw the auditorium with a small stage that Mystic has and approached the manager about his possibly presenting a stand-up show there. That led to the multi-artist show scheduled for Sept. 9.

“I’ve always thought a movie theater would be a really cool fit because it’s got everything a comedy club would want to have,” Ouimette says.

Cinemas also have fewer seats than, says, the 3,100-seat Providence Performing Arts Center, so it’s better for a stand-up show. (The auditorium Ouimette will be using at Mystic has 120 seats.) It also means there are fewer tickets to sell, so it’s easier to bring in smaller local acts.

Bill Dougherty, co-owner of Mystic Luxury Cinemas, says they had wanted to try comedy at the theater, but it just never happened.

“I am excited about this. If it goes over well, we’d love to open it up and do more,” Dougherty says.

Ouimette says, “We’re seeing how this first one goes. We’d love for that theater to become Mystic’s house where comedy is.”

Choosing the lineup

The lineup that Ouimette put together is led by John Perrotta, who gave Ouimette his start in comedy.

“He’s in the Rhode Island Comedy Hall of Fame. He’s helped find people like Bill Burr, who’s one of the biggest names in comedy right now. He helped discover a few other people. But he’s also hilarious. He’s known as the Italian Don Rickles. He’s the first one that I thought of booking,” Ouimette says.

Ouimette also brought in Joe Hebert, who does a lot of shows with Perrotta and runs the Rhode Island Comedy Hall of Fame. Ouimette says that Hebert, who plays guitar, is “just a really wholesome, funny guy.”

On the bill as well is Tyler Hittner. Ouimette says Hittner is “possibly the funniest comedian right now going around New England that nobody’s ever heard of. He goes up there with a walker because he’s disabled. He has a hard time walking, but he builds that into his set. He’s always the most positive person in the room. His set is extremely high energy, and everyone laughs from beginning to end.”

The host is Joanna Rapoza, who started doing comedy in western Connecticut and New York.

Wife’s illness inspires comedy career

As for Ouimette’s own comedy, he says, “I talk about married life. I talk about everyday scenarios.”

He does a bit about the Christmas Tree Shop and says, “I’m known as, like, the Christmas Tree Shop comic. People send my pictures whenever they go there. Christmas Shop even laughs at that.”

But the other major part of his act is talking about his wife, Christina — and the debilitating illness she has dealt with for the past 4-1/2 years. It’s myalgic encephalomyelitis, more commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome.

“Whenever it’s represented in comedy or media or anything, it’s always the patient is the butt of the joke,” Ouimette says, mentioning a joke Ricky Gervais made and how the main character on “House” prescribed candy to treat someone with chronic fatigue syndrome.

“That’s kind of the way it’s perceived in the mainstream, so I tried to bring awareness to it in my comedy. … You’ll see where I start to bring awareness to chronic fatigue syndrome and talk about the diagnosis process and the doctors that say it’s all in her head, to what it’s like going on vacation with her, and different ways that she uses everyday items in backwards or unique ways,” he says. For instance, she uses a FitBIt to make sure she DOESN’T take too many steps — the opposite of how most people use it.

Ouimette’s wife’s illness is what prompted him to get into comedy. He recalls how Christina, whom he met when both were interns at Mohegan Sun’s special events department, was valedictorian in college and was traveling the country as an event coordinator. But she was shut down by her illness, which came on after she underwent two surgeries that used general anesthesia. There was nothing Doug could do to fix the situation; he started seeing a therapist to try to get through the transition to this new phase of life. The therapist said he needed to start talking to people about his feelings and not bottle them up.

When he told work colleagues about the therapist’s recommendation, Ouimette recalls, “They’re like, ‘You should try that standup comedy everyone has always told you to do.’”

He went to an open mic event, which Perrotta happened to attend. Perrotta gave Ouimette his business card and has now been booking Ouimette for nearly four years.

“In my head, I’m like, ‘Well, I’m supposed to be talking about things that are stressing me out. Her illness is what’s stressing me out, so I guess that’s what the audience is going to hear about,’” he says with a chuckle.

Ouimette says that his wife (they now have a 7-month-old son) helps him write and that she approves every joke that references her illness. He doesn’t want a desire to get a laugh to outweigh the desire to be accurate about the illness.

It’s not dark comedy, Ouimette says; it’s just like any comedian making fun of a situation in their life.

For instance, Ouimette and Christina, who is in a wheelchair, were given a handicapped accessible hotel room on the 20th floor. When they got off the elevator, there was a sign saying in case of fire, use the stairs.

“It’s not a depressing lecture. It’s not a TED talk,” Ouimette says. “You’re laughing and subtly learning about this illness.”

IF YOU GO

What: Doug Ouimette Presents: John Perrotta Live

Who: Headlined by John Perrotta, with Joanna Rapoza, Tyler Hittner, Doug Ouimette and Rockin’ Joe Hebert

Where: Mystic Luxury Cinemas, Olde Mistick Village, Coogan Boulevard, Mystic

When: 8:30 p.m. Sept. 9

Tickets: $15

Visit: mysticluxurycinemas.com