Rita Rudner: A comic who doesn’t need the ‘blue’

 

 

By Eric George Tauber

SOLANA BEACH, California — The Belly Up was packed with an enthusiastic crowd, devotees of the Center for Jewish Culture, which brought her here. The packed house was surprising for a Sunday night. I mean, who still gets off for Columbus Day?

An institution in this coastal city, The Belly Up is a spacious bar and performance venue with high ceilings for acoustics, a balcony for extra seating and paintings of Blues artists festooning the walls.

Rita Rudner entered in one of her trademark floor-length ball gowns, looking poised and classy. She said that it was made by her favorite designer: “On Sale”.

Rudner is a master of rapid-fire set ups with ironic twists. Knowing her audience, Rudner warmed us up with jokes about growing up Jewish and being sent to a summer camp “for over-privileged children … Camp Gucci Ha Ha.”  But you don’t have to be one of “the tribe” to appreciate her show. She regaled us with wit about life in Vegas, healthcare, cosmetic surgery, shopping and getting older as a woman.

“Vegas is getting more cultural. We now have a topless ballet.  … Everything is topless in Vegas and size does matter. At dinner, I cut into a chicken breast and it had an implant.”

“I’m in the Las Vegas health program. If I get sick, I get to see a magician.”

“My father desperately needs a hearing aid, but he’s waiting … till my mother dies.”

She gave a pearl of wisdom from her grandmother that many women could use. A woman shouldn’t marry a man to change him because… “that pie’s been baked. … If you want a different flavor, get a different pie.”

“My husband believes in the ‘Sink Fairy’. He believes that if he just leaves dirty dishes in the sink, the Sink Fairy will wash them. But when I go out of town, the Sink Fairy comes with me.”

Her longest chain was on the differences between men and women, how we act, interact, think, talk, shop … etc … etc … etc. The list is inexhaustible.

“Sometimes my husband will stare at my forehead and ask, ‘What’s it like in there?’ ”

At the end, she fielded questions from the audience and improvised. For nearly an hour and a half, she had a crowd of people sitting shoulder to shoulder in uncomfortable folding chairs laughing, smiling and not wanting to be anywhere else in the world.

After the show, several people commented with admiration that she’s not a “blue” comic. She doesn’t stoop to foul language and bawdiness to be funny. A mother herself, you could take your kids to see her show and not worry about what they might repeat. Her humor is not for comedy club drunks. Rita Rudner is poised and ladylike with a sharp, self-deprecating wit. Her multitude of one-liners require an attentive ear because they come rapid-fire with ironic twists that will delight you.

The next time you’re in Vegas, be sure to catch Rita Rudner.

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Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted at eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com