September Misc. Reviews
Comedy

Who: Jeff Dunham
Where: The Funny Bone, Easton Town Center, Columbus, Ohio
When: August 24, 2000

Jeff Dunham is most widely known for his ventriloquist act with puppets Peanut, Walter and Bubba. If you haven’t seen him in person or during any of his many television appearances, you should make plans to do so.

Peanut is a fuzzy purple character that tells it like it is. Everything “sucks”, and he’s not shy to point it out. Peanut also plays well with the audience. An interaction that took place with a patron about his job lasted about 10 minutes and had the place in stitches. I always admire comedians that can improvise so well.

Walter is a grumpy old man who’s unhappily married and disappointed in his children. The jokes with Walter tend to be along that variety, which was good for the older people in the audience who still find that type of humor amusing.

Bubba is just what he sounds like: trailer trash from Arkansas. His story of meeting his wife at a family reunion were typical redneck humor, but his delivery was so funny that it gave the common vein of joke-telling a fresh feel.

Although the “puppets” were amusing (especially the quick exchanges between Dunham and the characters), it was Dunham’s opening stand-up bit that had me near tears. I don’t want to ruin the tale for anyone yet to see his show this year - but the “true story” of his New Year’s cruise was probably the funniest thing I have ever heard in any comedian’s act. The place was laughing so hard I thought we would need a break just to catch our breath before he continued on.

Dunham’s show is fairly clean - little sex or profanity. Which was actually a refreshing change of pace. I’ll be sure to check out his show the next time he is in town. You should do the same.

~Trixie, September 2000

send this review to a friend

Featured Book:

Looking for a book? Use this convenient Search Box from Amazon.com Search: Books Keywords: