TPAC draws 900 for laughsComics yuck it up at TPAC

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 11, 2008 by Bill Blankenship

By Bill Blankenship

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

"Last Comic Standing" winner Iliza Shlesinger drew cheers and jeers Thursday night at the Topeka Performing Arts Center when she walked on stage wearing a University of Kansas T-shirt and said: "Do we have any Jayhawks in the house tonight? Rock chalk, Jayhawks."

However, even the K-State Wildcats in TPAC quickly warmed to Shlesinger, who did her freshman year of college at KU.

With observations about Discovery Channel's "Shark Week," her own legs shaped like those of a deer and the mating habits of people, Shlesinger closed the comedy concert featuring all five finalists from Season 6 of NBC's reality television comedy competition.

An audience of not quite 900 saw the comics do extended sets of comedy that they only observed a few minutes of at a time in the summer series. They also heard material that certainly wouldn't have been cleared by NBC censors for prime-time viewing.

Louis Ramsey, who acted as the show's emcee, drew some of his biggest laughs in the opening set with a bit about a sex toy, which he illustrated with his right arm and verbal sound effects.

The British comic Jim Tavare followed, wearing a white tie and tails and bringing along his trademark double bass. Like Henny Youngman and Jack Benny did generations earlier with their violins, Tavare used his instrument for laughs, including creating the sounds of a NASCAR race complete with a multicar pileup.

When he auditioned for an orchestra, the maestro told him, "You suck on that instrument," to which Tavare said he replied: "Really? I thought you were supposed to pluck it."

He made a pitch for the A.B.D., the British Dyslexia Association, saying dyslexia can be "a terrible thing, especially at Christmas when Satan comes down the chimney."

Last up before intermission was Jeff Dye, who sort of hemmed and hawed around for a bit, saying: "Some of you guys are looking at me like, 'Oooh, tell us jokes.' You don't get right to work when you go to work, do you?"

Dye, who told the audience he usually doesn't use the F-word in his act, did, drawing cheers and applause, with an alliterative comment about the protesters picketing before the show.

The most manic of the comics was the singular-named Marcus, who mixed observational comedy with sight gags, such as describing his first experience with a bidet.

Marcus also did some of his impersonations, including what it would have been like had Adam Sandler been cast in the title role of "The Passion of The Christ."

Bill Blankenship can be reached

at (785) 295-1284

or bill.blankenship@cjonline.com.