Greg Fitzsimmons’ new comedy special, Life On Stage, was shot at Tarrytown Music Hall, in Tarrytown, New York, and is being released as a two-disc (CD and DVD) set. This performance had me laughing out loud for most of its hour. There is something instantly likeable about this guy. His energy is kind of bright and positive. Early on, a lot of his material is about getting the joy from life, about enjoying yourself while you can, which is great.
He almost immediately picks out a woman in the front row and engages her directly, encouraging her to do cocaine. “Not a lot. Don’t get hooked. You don’t have the money to get hooked. You’re poor.” And then he encourages her to have sex with a lot of guys. “Because you’re beautiful and you’re young, people want to have sex with you. And that’s going to change.” He talks about how we care less and less about people as they get older, and he uses the Hallmark card section as a sort of indication of this. He also mentions how he quit drinking a long time ago, and before the audience can applaud his sobriety (why do people do that?), he says, “It was a mistake.”
I love his take on debt. And even more than that I love the way he handles getting a ticket for running a red light. Perfect.
He does touch on some of the usual comedy topics, including some stuff about being married and having kids, as well as how his childhood led him to his profession. He says his dad “beat me just right… Any more would have been barbaric. And any less, I wouldn’t be seeking the approval of strangers night after night on the road.”
The material that really completely cracked me up included his bit about rescuing a dog and his bit on fountains. And I completely love his material on the changing language we use to describe ethnicity.
Also, on airport security (a hot topic these days) he has this to say: “‘If you notice anything unusual, please immediately report it to airport security.’ So I grabbed the guy. I’m like, ‘Yeah, I just saw somebody pay eleven dollars for a cup of coffee at Starbuck’s. And then right around the corner they’re selling luggage inside the airport. I’m gonna do another lap. I’ll let you know if I see anything else.’”
The DVD is sixty-one minutes (an hour of performance, and a minute of closing credits). The DVD has no special features. The CD is just under an hour (what’s cut is some of the applause at the beginning).
Life On Stage is scheduled to be released on August 27, 2013 through New Wave Dynamics.
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