This, according to Ricky Gervais, is the only moral lesson to be learned from Humpty Dumpty. Exactly how useful this moral is for an eight-year old human is his question and one of many lines that gets him laughs. I never thought about Humpty like this before and never have I laughed as hard about a nursery rhyme as I did last night.
Click here to see a clip of Gervais doing his Humpty act at a previous show (warning for my nieces & nephews: he uses R-rated language)
Gervais is in New York City 3 nights this week to close his first stand-up comedy tour in the US. So last night, I raced out of my office to watch a live performance by the creator of The Office. I have been a Ricky Gervais fan since I first saw the British version of the The Office but never had I seen him in person. Gervais is best known for cringe-inducing comedy, which is essentially a sitcom about incredibly awkward and uncomfortable moments that leave you no choice but to laugh to relieve the stress. The American version of The Officehas some aspect of that, but Gervais is the master.
Clearly his penchant for making us squirm is something he saves for his TV comedies because his stand-up act was built on observational humor and, after strategically timed sips of beer, accented with his quirky theories. For example, fat people are fat because "everything tastes good except salad", the Vietnam War is Gervais' favorite war because it had the best sound track and of course, there was Gervais' theory about the moral of Humpty Dumpty.
It was a great night but I am kicking myself today for not getting into the theater a bit early because David Bowie introduced Gervais with a comedic rendition of a song featured in Extras, Gervais' second comedy TV hit. The good news for me (and for you too if you want to laugh at Gervais' stand-up comedy) is that later this year HBO will air a special they're making of Gervais' US debut tour.
As an aside, here are few tangential Never b4's from last night's show:
1. The WAMU Theater: This was the first time I saw anything in this theater under Madison Square Garden. It's big enough to make the event feel like an event but small enough to feel intimate. Nice place but they really need to get rid of the Big Bird, Ben Vereen, Barry Manilow, Bill Cosby and Neil Diamond posters on the wall. How about a few 21st century pics WAMU!
2. The Disappearing Show Ticket: Never have I seen so many people carrying computer print outs to a show. The day of the ticket has ending. Those printout can't possibly make a very good souvenirs though.
3. Crutches Get You Good Seats! As I've mentioned in previous posts my husband is on crutches due to ankle surgery, but that didn't stop him from crutching his way through the Bon Jovi crowds at the Garden and the Gervais fans at the WAMU theater. He was rewarded for his efforts by a nice usher who led us to 2 floor seats close to the stage instead of our mezzanine seats we had bought. It's sort of tempting to keep the crutches and the ankle boot for future shows. Ha!
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Bowie introduced him last year during the High Line festival. This is Ricky's 2nd time in the US.
Posted by: h | July 17, 2008 at 06:47 PM