Moseyed down to the Center for the Performing Arts last night (where, in 9th grade, I once performed on stage as part of my magnet school’s “Broadway Babies II” show wearing one of those t-shirts printed to look like a tuxedo. I’m not proud of it. But I digress.) to see David Sedaris. He was really quite funny and engaging, far more so than in his audiobooks, NPR, and Letterman appearances, and I enjoyed it. He stayed away from his already-published stuff and read us three or four new essays as well as recent excerpts from his diary.
I’m still in search of any semblance of a gay culture here in San Jose, and figured that this would be a rare opportunity to see guys of my ilk — not fans of stereotypical gay culture, such as bars and pride parades, but the kind who enjoy reading every once in a while.
Instead, what I saw was an audience that was not gay, but gray. The median age of that group of 2,700 people was hovering in the 70s.
Of course, there were some 20- and 30-somethings sprinkled in here and there, and they were the ones who were roaring with laughter. I was a bit puzzled by this, I mean, Sedaris is funny, wry, and perceptive but he’s no Robin Williams. He’s not up there doing stand-up comedy and most of the stuff that made certain members of the audience split their sides was just met with a grin from me. Perhaps my sense of humor is skewed; I just don’t find David Sedaris to be that kind of laugh-uproarishly hilarious.
This makes me sound dour and lacking a sense of humor, which I’m definitely not. It was just weird to hear 8 to 10 people around me snorting like Richard Pryor was up there on stage.
Moseyed down to the Center for the Performing Arts last night (where, in 9th grade, I once performed on stage as part of my magnet school’s “Broadway Babies II” show wearing one of those t-shirts printed to look like a tuxedo. I’m not proud of it. But I digress.) to see David Sedaris.
