March 22, 2008
Rita Rudner Comedy at Harrah’s Las Vegas
by Mara M. Mannella
Tucked inside a casino whose name is synonymous with glitz and glamour is a comedian who has paid her dues here in Las Vegas and her experience shows. Rita Rudner represents classic Vegas in a way that is both entertaining and unpretentious. An intimate theater is the setting for Ms. Rudner’s one woman show that keeps audiences laughing every night.
A woman comedian in a sea of male headliners is an eye-catching marquee on the Strip, where Rita Rudner makes her home at Harrah’s. The audience is welcomed to share in Rita’s life experiences, from the trials and tribulations of married life to the harrowing but hysterical journey of getting older. The unique delivery of Rita’s humor makes it so the audience isn’t sure what the next zinger will be. Poking fun at herself, her husband, and select audience members, you never know who the next victim will be.
As the audience laughs at (and with!) Rita as she shares chapters of parenthood and everyday life in Las Vegas one thing becomes apparent as you look around the theater. Pokes and pointed fingers of spouses, family members and friends are everywhere as the audience sees some of themselves in these situations! The seats filled with families, couples, tourists and locals prove this show has mass appeal.
The monologue is a pleasure to watch but another great segment of the show is the question and answer at the conclusion. The audience gets a new perspective of the down-to-earth performer and it showcases Rita’s quick wit. It is obvious Rita Rudner’s home is on the stage and her act is testament that a Vegas show can be a success without pyrotechnics and wild animals. This is a Las Vegas standard that certainly has stood the test of time and provides a great show night after night.
Housed in an intimate theatre, there really isn’t a bad seat in the venue, unless stage-shy attendees are seated just off the stage. This “danger zone” provides Brady, as well as his improv partner Jonathan Mangum, a proficient performer in his own right, the pick of the litter when summoning audience members to the stage to take part in an act, whether they like it or not. Be warned, if he calls you up to the stage, you may find it difficult to decline, especially when egged on by your fellow (often drunken) tourists. If you’d rather avoid the risk of center stage humiliation, select a seat a little further back, where you may safely and anonymously shout out improv suggestions while avoiding a possible coerced participation.
Each skit branches off from a central theme, one which demonstrates that nothing is sacred, not even religion. In an office setting are brainstorming workers (angels) and their almighty boss (God) trying to figure out what to do with humans down below. An example of their ingenuity as creators: “Why don’t we make the men smart like the women? Same reason we don’t make animals talk.” Demoralizing, insulting, and belittling? Perhaps. But a much needed laugh in the face of an often ugly world.
It’s plain good ol’ Las Vegas tradition to capture the awe of viewers with dynamic props, extravagant effects, unconventional talent, and unparalleled showmanship (though often an overkill). One man, however, opens doors to the hearts, emotions, and spirits of people using entertainment weapons that far surpass the need for a stage crew: His mind and the minds of those he encounters.
But Gerry himself is only a freak in how thoroughly and meticulously he refined his gift. Intuition alone wouldn’t cut it. He studied the mind to no end along with Psychology, Hypnosis, and Linguistics (just to name a few); watched how people communicate with one another; observed body language, eye movement, and tone of voice; he even worked in a psychiatric hospital and learned facts about how the brain worked. And lucky for Las Vegas, he’s sharing the whole psychological sha-bang.
Blindfolded, very, very blindfolded, Gerry also demonstrates that he can tell what a material item is without touching it. Randomly, 3 purse items are picked from the audience and The Mentalist can tell exactly what they are, personal items as bizarre as guitar picks or travel bibles. His method for this is of a basic principal- the whole audience if focused on the item, feeding him the information he needs. Go ahead and try to be a skeptic now.
How long has Carrot Top been around and how famous is he? I don’t have a clue about the answer to those questions, and his web site certainly didn’t help me find out information. Carrot Top may be a publicity hound, but what does that have to do with his show? Nothing I guess. I enjoyed watching this show and I was surprised.
There is an old saying, “a joke a minute.” But Carrot Top has a joke more like every ten seconds, and if doesn’t work he makes fun of himself and his audience, which makes him even funnier. There is some pretty silly stuff that he does on stage, and the sheer silliness is funny. He even has stagehands to help him with props, and when the stagehands are seen moving off stage with an obvious visual ploy that doesn’t look like it was supposed to happen, he would make fun of the stagehand moving off stage not supposed to being seen. But he was seen, and Carrot Top pointing it out was funny, and I suspect it happened before once, and they just kept it in the show.
My favorite jokes involved Las Vegas hotels. One was about the curtains that never quite close allowing a ridiculous amount of light in the room, and causing eyeball sunburn. I understood that joke, as I am always fighting curtains in Las Vegas rooms to shut out all that light that is trying to keep me awake. Ok, I’ll admit it; you had to be there. And then there was him lying on the floor bathed in green light and his joke was this is what it is like sleeping in the MGM Grand when the stupid curtains don’t close. And then he made fun of MGM Grand, and then realized that MGM Grand now owns the Luxor. So this humor is a little disjointed, but it is still funny.
Our not-so-young-anymore readers will remember David Brenner as the innovative comedian who made a record 158 guest appearances on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. Our “just turned 21″ readers are probably going “someone hosted the Tonight Show before Jay Leno?”
Larry G. Jones is a comedic impressionist who may someday be heir to the Danny Gans / Andre-Philippe Gagnon throne. He buzzes through impressions so full of one-liners and comedic lyrics that you barely stop laughing at the last one before he hit you with another zinger. He can do over 1000 voices, and does a significant variety of favorites from all eras in his show.