PLAYBOT: 2 Amigos live for comedy
“When Marty and I fly together,” says Steve Martin of his friend Martin Short, “we save a lot of money because Marty fits conveniently in the overhead bin.”
Short says, “You look like Anderson Cooper frozen to death on New Year’s Eve.”
Steve plays his banjo and sings, “Let’s count the awards you have won: One, two, three, four, five, six, none!”
Short appears in a white jumper decorated with crudely drawn genitalia and shouts, “Top, that, motherfucker!”
Steve smashes Marty over the head with his banjo.
(Important disclaimer: That last one didn’t happen.)
You get the idea. The preceding transcript from the trailer of their Netflix special An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life is but a taste of what’s in store when they perform live in Edmonton, at the Jubilee Auditorium on Friday, Aug. 3.
These guys have a staggering arsenal of characters and material to draw from, on their own and together, dating from their first meeting while making Three Amigos in 1986. Martin, the junior at 68 years old, made his mark in the Canadian classic SCTV, and on Saturday Night Live, along with countless TV shows and feature films – not technically countless though we’re not going to list them all here. That’s what Wikipedia is for.
Steve Martin, meanwhile, was one of the first comedy superstars in the late ‘70s, filling arenas on the strength of his classic comedy album Wild and Crazy Guy, with characters he largely created on Saturday Night Live – a show that despite its relatively laugh-free present was responsible for launching the careers of countless (countable) comic talents. The 72-year-old Martin, too, is famous for his feature films, some revealing dramatic depth beyond comedy; and has been showing off his prodigious skills on the banjo. Turns out he’s a “Helluva Picker” (he may have won an award by that name). His band, the Steep Canyon Rangers, will be part of the musical accompaniment on this tour.
Why two established comedy legends old enough to be collecting Social Security have teamed up to hit the live comedy road again is a matter for speculation. But it’s pretty obvious they love it. These guys have done a ton of press for the tour, laying clear not only their deep friendship, but also a chemistry that translates wonderfully to the neo-vaudevillian bantering duo schtick they’re doing. Don’t get a lot of comedy duos anymore. And there are lots of examples of comics who made it big – like Seinfeld – who would never have to work again, but invariably come back to the stand-up comedy stage. It must be like a drug. There’s nothing like that feeling of killing it in front of a live audience. Ask any comic who’s killed as long and often as Steve and Marty have.
Fringe ‘O’ Saurus Rex
It’s the calm before the storm, all is quiet on the Western front, and [cliché not found]. Thespians from Edmonton and around the world are busy feverishly rehearsing, building sets, designing, and so on for the annual Fringe festival, taking over Old Strathcona and various other environs for 11 mad days, Aug, 16-26, featuring countless plays. OK, they can be counted, but Playbot’s corrupted 2K memory cannot possibly hold them all.
Now for the plug: Be sure to read GigCity.ca during the festival for extensive reviews from venerable theatre critic (CBC, Edmonton Sun, now GigCity) Colin MacLean and the rest of our team – and watch the “Fringe ‘O’ Saurus Rex’ grounds for a special live appearance from Playbot itself!
