Short comes up big in satirical 'Fame Becomes Me'

0 Comments | USA TODAY, August, 2006 | by Elysa Gardner

NEW YORK -- In case you haven't been paying attention, pop culture has pretty much devolved into a contradiction in terms.

Martin Short seems to grasp this, but for some reason, he's not angry about it. Were I in Short's shoes, with a three-decade resume as a multifaceted stage and screen performer, I wouldn't be too chuffed about the ascent of dull-witted reality TV stars and nabobs such as Paris Hilton and Simon Cowell. And I might resent our increasing obsession with celebrities' personal crises, and the earnest public confession and penitence we've come to expect from the stars.

Luckily, Short is a bigger person than I am, and a funnier one. His new musical, Fame Becomes Me (***1/2 out of four), which opened last week at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, offers a...