Paul Reiser, Rita Rudner to bring stand-up to Osage Casino
BY NOUR HABIB World Scene Writer
Sunday, February 24, 2013
2/24/13 at 6:48 AM
For a couple of months in the late '70s, Paul Reiser called Tulsa home.
The fresh-out-of-college Reiser was in town to learn his father's wholesale food business, which was partly based out of Tulsa. Reiser said he always thought he'd end up in the business. Instead, it was here that he made an important decision.
"It was while in Tulsa that I said, 'I know what I want to do. I want to be a comedian,' " Reiser said during a recent phone interview with the Tulsa World.
Although it wasn't anything about Tulsa, per se, that led to the decision, Reiser said living on his own for the first time was what cleared his head.
"So I have a sweet spot in my heart for Tulsa because ... it was the place that helped me discover what I wanted to do," he said.
Now, more than 30 years later, the comedian and actor of "Mad About You" fame is coming back to Tulsa. He and comedian Rita Rudner, who currently performs at The Venetian in Las Vegas, will take the stage at the Osage Event Center at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Tulsa show will be the third that Rudner and Reiser perform together.
Rudner and Reiser have similar styles and a similar "position in life," which makes their acts go well together, they said.
Their comedy is clean, Rudner said, mainly focusing on everyday occurrences in their lives that they can poke fun at.
"Comedy is so much coarser these days," Rudner said. "It's wonderful to hear people laugh because of something they can relate to rather than because they are embarrassed."
The comedians and actors are also writers - each has authored books and written for television, among other things.
But both said stand-up comedy has been their favorite creative outlet because of the independence it affords them.
"You don't have to have 14 committees and studios weighing in," Reiser said. "Its really just you."
Rudner agrees.
"I write it myself, I think it myself, I say it myself, I wear what I want. You're a one-man band when you're a comedian," she said.
Rudner said writing for movies or television involves a lot of "sitting in rooms with executives."
"Trying to please a lot of people is very tiring," she said. "Working for the audience is exhilarating."
They also enjoy the immediacy of stand-up comedy.
"There's something very refreshing about being on stage," Reiser said. With stand-up, you know immediately if the audience is responding to your material. With TV, although people might like your show, you have to wait to find out.
Reiser said he recently returned to stand-up comedy and he's pleased to see that today's audiences don't differ much from 20 years ago.
"For all that the world has changed, comedy hasn't."
RITA RUDNER AND PAUL REISER
Where: Osage Event Center, 951 W. 36th St. North
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Tickets: $50, tulsaworld.com/osagecasino, 918-699-7667, 877-246-8777
Original Print Headline: See Reiser, Rudner at Osage
Nour Habib 918-581-8369
nour.habib@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Reiser
Rudner
|
