Jackie, Oh!
Mason confident Phoenix will get joke
LENI REISS
Senior Contributing Editor
Comedian Jackie Mason bristles at the suggestion that his brand of Jewish humor might be received less enthusiastically in the Valley than it is on Broadway in New York, a city with a much larger Jewish population from which to draw an ethnic audience.
"It isn't true that only Jews get 'Jewish jokes'," he said emphatically, in his unmistakably accented cadence.
Speaking on the telephone from his hotel suite in Las Vegas, he called his Phoenix interviewer a "paranoid Jew" for even suggesting such a thing.
"I talk about everything relevant to everybody," he continued. "I always contrast Jews to Gentiles, and vice versa. Gentiles know they always are under cars. Jews know they eat Chinese food. I'm not surprising anyone."
Mason will be performing his one-man show here four times - at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27- March 1, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 2 - at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix.
Mason is not bringing his recent Broadway success, "Love Thy Neighbor," to Phoenix. Instead, he'll be trying out some new material in anticipation of "Much Ado About Everything," his next Broadway show.
"I'm not a hit by accident," he noted. "I study and struggle, and I don't take people for granted. No yesterday's news." The material is all new, he promises, "as relevant as today's newspaper."
Mason said he has "an insatiable lust" for fresh material. "Some chase sex," he said. "I chase jokes." Phoenix audiences should be on the alert for his takes on Starbucks coffee, the Internet, "anything trendy."
Regarding recent news events, Mason had this to say:
On the O.J. Simpson civil trial - "He'll pay these debts the same day Marilyn Monroe will visit my apartment. ... He'll be playing golf for the rest of his life, maybe in England where there is no extradition."
On the Academy Award nominations - "The nominations have nothing to do with quality, only with what's new, who's hot, sentimentality, to make up for past injustices. They'd have to invent an award for Lauren Bacall - if she was sweeping floors they'd have an award for sweeping floors. She's got a big mouth and she's without a job. They owe her something. It's like Elizabeth Taylor in 'Butterfield 8.' That picture stunk altogether - and she was not so hot."
On his upcoming appearance in Phoenix - "You should thank God I'm coming there. It's the chance of a lifetime. Don't miss me!"
Meanwhile, be on the lookout for a newly syndicated talk show featuring the motor-mouthed Mason. Harry Shuster of South Africa, "a huge billionaire," is "taking a chance with me," and footing the bill, Mason reports.
Tickets to see Mason perform locally are on sale at Dillard's outlets. Or call 503-5555.
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