✓ dat Shalom Synagogue

PRESENTS

Sons of Sepharati

Professional Therapist. She's made reg-
lar appearances on ABC's Politically
ncorrect and Comedy Central's Make
e Laugh.
And she's earned rave reviews.
Pntertainment Weekly praised her
;uest appearance as an impatient ele-
iator passenger on Caroline in the
City and questioned why Ladman
ioesn't have a series of her own.
"Why don't I have one? I don't
snow. Believe me, it's frustrating. I
ion't get why it hasn't happened yet.
would love to have my own series,"
;ays the comedian. Going into come-
ly was the only career goal Ladman
lad while growing up.
It is so obviously my calling and
t was under my skin," she says. "I've
)een interested in comedy since I was
years old. I listened to comedy
Llbums and I watched comedy on
CV. In high school I was voted class
:lown. At age 13, I made a conscious
lecision to be a stand-up comic, but
t took me another 13 years to [get
tarred] because it was scary."
Ladman had several breaks in the
.arly
stages of her career as she
i
'-7 oved up from playing "dumpy"
:lubs to more prestigious ones like
\Tew York's "Catch a Rising Star."
3ut, like many comedians, her great-
:st break was getting booked on The
Tonight Show.
"It was such a specific goal that
emained a goal for so long. It was a
how I watched for as long as I could
emember. To have achieved that
I keam was amazing," she says. To
late, she's performed on The Tonight
;how nine times, and she was the
mly female comic to appear on the
ast two Johnny Carson Tonight Show
lnniversary specials.
Ladman recalls the early days of
ier career. She was especially
spired after seeing Jerry Seinfeld
erform on The Tonight Show. He
as someone who understood her
)assion for humor. In fact, after
neeting on a teen trip to Israel
when she was 15 and he was 16,
hey became boyfriend and girlfriend
Or a time.
The two dated again for about six
'nonths when Ladman was 19. "We
,oih told each other we wanted to be
:omits. We encouraged each other,"
he says. "I got in touch with him
years later] after I saw him on The
tonight Show, and he was so excited.
-le said, 'If I wanted anyone to see
he show, it was you.'''
Ladman, 43, is often hesitant to
eveal her age. "It prejudices people
41 L.A.], and affects people getting
7-)

i

.

work," she says, and that's not all
about Los Angeles that bothers her.
She is the first to poke fun at the
city's people and their priorities.
In a piece for L.A. Weekly, she
writes about how important her per-
sonal appearance is to her. "I put time
and energy into my 'upkeep,' but I
will not do anything that requires
anesthesia. ...L.A. has become a city
known for its citizens' major-league
renovations of The Body: liposuction,
face lifts, breast implants, chin
implants, eye jobs, nose jobs, blah,
blah, etc. More choices than on the
menu at Jerry's Deli."
While Ladman was raised with the
view that it's better not to marry out-
side of one's religion, her husband of
2 1/2 years is Swedish and a gentile.
"We make each other laugh and cry,
angry and broke," she says.
They plan to have a baby. He has
two children, and Ladman jokes on
stage that her half-Norwegian, half-
Swedish step-kids are "see-through.
I've never seen blonder people in my
life," she notes. As a stepmom, she's
enjoyed introducing her Jewishness to
her stepchildren. It broadens their
outlook, she says.
For Ladman, being Jewish has
more to do with personality than
prayer. "I'm a New York Jew —
[being Jewish] is more cultural to
me," she says. Raised in a
Conservative home, she celebrated
her bat mitzvah, but found "orga-
nized religion to be very divisive. I
always believed in God," she says,
"but I think that religion has led to a
lot of wars in the world and tends to
be very hypocritical."
One thing is for sure: Ladman
doesn't hold back. And it's her hon-
esty that gets her laughs, especially
when she touches upon gender differ-
ences. She shares her preoccupation
with the details of life. "I know I
have combination skin," she says.
[On the other hand], my husband is
pretty sure he has a face — and that's
enough information for him." 1-1

SPONSORED IN PART BY THE SOL & DIANE COLTON

MUSIC ENDOWMENT

a spectacilar evening celebrating the rhyikm
and harmony of Sephardic soil music

ALBERTO MIZRAHI
AARON BENSOUSSAN
REX BENINCASA
GERARD EDERY

$5 GENERAL ADMISSION

$100 CONTRIBUTORS RECEIVE
2 RESERVED-SECTION TICKETS
AND A GALA AFTERGLOW

ALONG WITH A 3RD & 4TH GRADE CHOIR

CONCERT CHAIRPERSONS
SANDI & JEFFREY MILLER
CINDY & STEVEN POSEN

(LEFT) HONORARY CHAIRPERSON LEONARD COLTON

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL 851-5100

$1.00 OFF ONE ADMISSION WITH THIS AD

21st Ann
Arbor Spring
Art Fair

May 1 & 2, 1999

Milt Mahfelder

Dennis Davis

Sat., May 1 — 10am to 6pm • Sun., May 2 — 11am to 5pm

Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds • 5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd.

Admission $5.00
Under 10 FREE

2500 Free Parking Spaces

Indoor Heated Facility

Cathy Ladman will appear at
Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle,
269 E. Fourth St., in Royal Oak
8:30 p.m. Wednesday and
Thursday, 8:15 and 10:45 p.m.
Friday and Saturday and 7:30
p.m. Sunday, May 5-9. Tickets
are $6 on Wednesday, Thursday
and Sunday, $12 on Friday and
Saturday. For reservations, call
(248) 542-9900.

Ron & Tricia Gerard

Michelle Johnson

Audree Levy presents 180 of the finest artists and craftspeople in the country. Take 1-94 to
Exit 177 (State St.). Turn South "3 miles" to Textile Rd. Turn right (West) "3 miles" to Ann Arbor-Saline Rd.
Turn right (North) "1 mile" to entrance of the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds.
Indoor Heated Facility on the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds, 5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd.
e-mail: audree@levyartfairs.com
www.levyartfairs.com

Advertise in our Arts & Entertainment Section!

111

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JNArts & Entertainment

Call The Sales Department

(248) 354.7123 Ext. 209

DETROIT
JEWISZ NEWS

'TN

Detroit Jewish News

4/30
1999

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