Majoring In Laughs
Eugene Mirman opens for comedy-
folk duo Flight of the Conchords at
Fox Theatre.
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Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News
S
tandup comedian Eugene
Mirman plans on hav-
ing one Detroit joke for
his upcoming Motown appearance
— but only one. He prefers to bring
laughs to audiences with humor
that's more personal.
"My topics can vary from air-
plane travel to something that
Eugene Mirman: Humor that's personal
happened in a fish store says the
entertainer, 34, who will take the
stage 8 p.m. Friday, April 24, at the
Fox Theatre.
Union Hall, where I do a show every
"I'm not particularly topical to
Sunday night," says the entertainer,
make the jokes more timeless. A story
also to be sampled on the Web at
about a fish store will work now and
eugenemirman.com, where Texas sex
in 10 years as opposed to something
becomes an absurd skit subject.
about the economy"
Mirman takes on today's pop cul-
The entertainer, whose current tour
ture with the recent release of his
started in Toronto and moves on to
advice book, The Will to Whatevs, A
other cities, has appeared in Detroit,
Guide to Modern Life (HarperCollins:
Ann Arbor and East Lansing. His
$13.99). The chapters, with parodies
career grew from a high-school dream
on a range of advice given by self-help
about making money being funny to
gurus, also can be sampled on a Web
actual bookings for club stages and TV. site, thewilltowhatevs.com , where a tip
"I went to Hampshire College in
to college applicants cautions about
Massachusetts, where I could design
mentioning murder convictions."
my own major, and I majored in com-
"My girlfriend, Katie Westfall-
edy' says Mirman, who was born in
Tharp, who works on set designs and
Russia, grew up outside of Boston and props, did all the illustrations for the
moved to New York for "great knishes" book," he says.
and standup opportunities.
Mirman, who was a preschooler
"I had different jobs, including com- when his family came to the United
puter marketing, while trying to do
States, wants to return to Russia and
more comedy. I got little breaks and
complete a documentary related to his
did it more and more until I finally got experiences as a Jewish immigrant.
to perform in Detroit"
"I don't tell Jewish stories in my
Those breaks included appearances
act, but I do mention things that are
on television with Conan O'Brien and
Jewish:' explains Mirman, a music fan
on cable comedy programs, including
traveling with an iPod but often listen-
Flight of the Conchords, the HBO show ing to a self-loaded jukebox found at
featuring a New Zealand duo whose
a flea market and carried up the stairs
comedy and acoustic folk music
to his fourth-floor apartment.
became the basis of a BBC radio series
"I dropped out of Hebrew school so
that transferred to American televi-
I didn't have a bar mitzvah, but I'm a
sion in 2007.
good son. I speak Russian to my par-
A booking agent put Mirman in
ents every day" 7
touch with a record label that pro-
duced his humor for CD, and audi-
Eugene Mirman opens for Flight
ences can get the sense of his style
of the Conchords 8 p.m. Friday,
with The Absurd Nightclub Comedy of
April 24, at the Fox Theatre in
Eugene Mirman.
Detroit. $38.50. Info: (313) 471-
"I test out my material on audiences
6611. Tickets: (800) 745-3000
in small New York clubs, especially
or Olympia Entertainment.com .
4/24/2009 - The Orient
6/26/2009 - United States
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313-962-9366 mosaic-detroit.com
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B7