Seinfeld gets physical for Jubilee audience
Standup superstar adds a few moves to trademark observational humour
Jerry Seinfeld When: Friday Where: Jubilee Auditorium
Jerry Seinfeld in the Jube Cracking Jokes could be the title of the New York comedian’s two-night stand in Edmonton.
The vehicle — a 56-year-old refurbished venue — might not be as sleek or powerful as the four-wheeled stars of his web series, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, but he didn’t let it slow him down during Friday’s set, the first of his shows.
“Ju-bi-lee,” Seinfeld let the syllables roll off his tongue like he was a young John Travolta trying to savour some wine or defend his disco moves. “It sounds like a very nice, bubbly dessert.”
The absurdities of food, coffee and energy drinks were a big part of his 90-minute set — and made for some of the most knee-slapping hysterical bits of observational humour. (Don’t be surprised if you go home and eat a pack of cookies after his next two shows.)
The former star of TV’s best comedy also hit the doubling-over-with-laughter mark with his clever deconstructions of the English language, minute dissections of going to Friday’s show — buying tickets, deciding what to wear, the stress of getting to your seats — and the ridiculous consequences of cellphones and social media. No one actually wants to talk anymore, they only want to type. “I can text you this whole thing and we can get the hell out of here,” he quipped.
Some of his material wasn’t quite as potent, especially his take on the differences between singles and married couples, men and women. His jokes felt kind of predictable — of the men-are-dumb-women-are-complex variety — or at least not preposterous enough for a comedian who got his start pointing out these differences more than two decades ago. He might want to think about ditching these subjects and expand his bits on children, parents and the oddities of family dynamics.
To the best of my knowledge, Seinfeld’s comedy seems to be expanding in one particular area. He looks like he’s getting more physical, especially when he talks about the least physical of subjects. Sitting. Holding a coffee. Texting friends. Sleeping. “Chess games” with his wife. As he riffed on each, the 59-year-old comic looked more like an awkward mime — bending his knees, waving his arms, marching with an invisible cup — which only added to the laughs.
Seinfeld (and his opener Mark Schiff) perform two shows on Saturday — 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets are still available to the earlier gig via Ticketmaster.ca.
If he’s feeling the vibe, he might even come out and take some questions after his set — like he did Friday night, answering queries about Seinfeld (the TV show), sitcoms and whether he was slapped with a speeding ticket during the latest instalment of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. (No.)
Whatever you do, though, don’t ask to shake his hand.