Paul Reiser promises an evening of politics-free, feel-good comedy when the actor/comedian brings his stand-up routine Friday, Oct. 17, to the McAninch Center for the Arts at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn.
Reiser recently starred in the Netflix series Stranger Things and The Kominsky Method, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award, but he is perhaps best known as Paul Buchman in Mad About You, an award-winning comedy series that aired from 1992 to 1999. But don't expect to hear much about his acting career during filming; According to him, his first love will always be stand-up comedy.
“Someone asked me, 'How do you describe your show?' And I could never answer that question intelligently,” Reiser said. “The only thing I could think of was to ask people: Have you seen Cirque du Soleil? And if you have, then my show is the exact opposite of that. Whatever you hope for in a Cirque du Soleil show, you won't get it. There will be no jumping, no fancy music, no made up words.
“But it's going to be a really fun night. I tell people that if they're not completely satisfied and don't have a good time, I'll come back next year and take them to see someone more fun.”
He never had to keep that promise.
Viewers will hear stories from his family life and about his 36-year-old wife. They have two sons, 30 and 25 years old.
“I only tell people what's going on in my house and what's happening to me, and luckily it turns out it's not just me,” he said. “Every ridiculous argument I have at home with my lovely wife or my wonderful children results in people saying, 'Yeah, that looks like my house.' People like company, they like to know that they are not alone. So do I. So when they laugh, I feel much better. I feel comforted.”
And perhaps best of all, he assures the audience up front that there will be no talk of politics or any of the hot topics of the day.
“There's so much going on and it's all so intense and here I'm talking about stupid, funny things. I said, 'Just so you know, I'm aware, I'm watching the news, but I'm not going to talk about any of this,'” he said. “And to my surprise, people started applauding. People were like, 'Thank you. Can we just have an hour and a half of fun and good times and uplifting things and you don't are you going to bring up topics that make us depressed?” I can assure you of this. They will go home happy. They can turn on the news when they get home.”
Reiser will next be seen in the Netflix limited series cryptocurrency drama The Altruists, starring Julia Garner and Anthony Boyle. He plays Boyle's character's father.
He also just finished writing the pilot for Fox with screenwriter Adam F. Goldberg (The Goldbergs) and Reiser's own son, Leon Reiser. He was turned in, so now we're waiting to see if they'll pick him up, Riser said.
He hopes that will happen because writing what you know—in this case, the father-son dynamic—hasn't failed him yet, he said.
“I remember many years ago when we presented “Mad About You.” (We) described what the show was going to be about, and every network executive said, “Oh, let me tell you about my mother-in-law.” Let me tell you about my wife,” he said. “Everyone was eager to tell stories about their personal nightmares. And I said, 'I think we'll have success here, because it seems pretty interesting.'
As for whether fans will see him in the final season of the mega-hit series Stranger Things, Dr. Sam Owens' fate at the end of season four was unclear. When asked about his comeback, the first volume of which begins on November 26, his lips were tightly sealed.
“I’m not allowed to debate,” Riser said. “I can tell you this: there will be some chaos, there will be some panic, and there will be young people who will overcome some problems. The Duffer brothers are very smart and I'm sure people will be happy with the ending.”
No matter what happens to his acting career, nothing will dampen his love for stand-up, he said.
“It’s not easy, but it’s not difficult either,” he said. “Just the idea of being in a room with other people and seeing real faces – you don't have to wait six months to find out if it's funny. You know… There's nothing like it for me. I have the most fun on stage.”
Tickets for Riser's 7:30 p.m. show range from $70 to $80 and can be purchased online at: atthemac.org or by phone at 630-942-4000;
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
