arts & entertainment

Mad About Humor

Actor-comedian-author Paul Reiser appears in a benefit show
for Kadima on Oct. 1 at the Max M. Fisher Music Center.

Suzanne Chessler
I Contributing Writer

his career and outlook for the Jewish
News:

omedian Paul Reiser finds dif-
ferent platforms for sharing the
humor he observes in everyday
experiences, but he also reaches out
in response to everyday circumstances
removed from humor.
When Reiser enters the spotlight
to celebrate the 30th anniversary of
Kadima — the local nonprofit that pro-
vides help for children with emotional
and behavioral disorders and adults with
chronic mental illness — he will zero in
on his own background for laugh lines
he's sure will resonate with the audience
throughout his standup routine.
At the same time, the purpose of the
show represents his interest in mental
health services as offered by Kadima and
funded in part through this event.
The entertainer's subjects and sensi-
tivities are bolstered by his wife, psy-
chologist Paula Reiser, who is involved
with organizations drawing attention to
emotional pain and its consequences.
The couple supports ALEH Negev, a
rehabilitative village located in Israel's
southern region that provides severely
physically and mentally disabled young
adults the opportunity to live a rich and
productive life within a safe environ-
ment, as well as providing medical and
rehabilitative care for nonresidents with
disabilities. The Reisers have observed
the facilities in Israel.
"Bill Cosby has said that the most
personal thing is the most universal:'
says Reiser, 57, in a phone conversation
from his California home. "When you
talk about something private, it turns
out that everybody is going through the
exact same thing:'
Reiser, also known for his TV and
movie roles as well as writing projects,
will appear Wednesday evening, Oct. 1,
at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in
Detroit. His standup, rated among the
all-time top 100 by Comedy Central, fol-
lows a pre-glow with hors d'oeuvres.
The show is scheduled in the same
month as the release of Whiplash, a
suspenseful movie that captures Reiser's
serious acting abilities. He portrays a
father dealing with a son under the sway
of a troubled teacher.
Reiser, who won national television
attention with the hit sitcom Mad About
You, recently answered questions about

JN: What specifics will be part of your
Detroit show?

C

more deeply. There were many things
I wanted to talk about that didn't quite
fit into a show but were perfect for little
chapters in a book. It was nice to be able
to have that format.

PR: I'll talk about the things that
make me laugh and hopefully make
other people laugh. For the audiences
that have known me over time, it will
feel like we grew up together. When I
talk about being married, having kids
and growing older, they will connect.
Obviously, I'm not the only guy going
through it all so it should be a shared,
fun evening.

JN: Does it make your career more
interesting because you have these dif-
ferent outlets?

PR: They all come from the same
place, but it is nice to change it up a
little. I've been very fortunate to do
them all. I have two new movies (the
recent Life After Beth and the upcoming
Whiplash) and two TV shows that are on
the air. They all kind of fuel each other.

JN: Because of the attention given to
Robin Williams' substance abuse and
suicide, do you think this benefit is
particularly timely?

IN: What are the shows about?

PR: I think the purpose is always
timely. Because so many facilities and
services have had economic cutbacks,
responsibilities fall more and more into
the private sector. There's a constant
need to help these causes.
I didn't know Robin very well, but we
would meet at certain shows. I'd see him
around, and he was as light and ephem-
eral and joyful as the public saw. It cer-
tainly does open people's eyes to the idea
that somebody who might look perfectly
happy might not necessarily be that way.
This was a joyful guy who was fighting
some demons, and it's heartbreaking.

level needed to be a concert pianist so
I was going to the comedy clubs during
my summer breaks.
Standup is always what I intended to
do. When Mad About You got started, I
put standup on the back burner. When
the series was over, I was happy being
home and wasn't inspired to travel.
A couple of years ago, I did a benefit,
and it was a great audience. I realized I
missed it so I started going back to the
clubs. I still play piano, but it's private.

JN: Do you have any connections to
Michigan?

JN: How did you launch profession-
ally?

PR: The last time I was there was with
my elder son on a baseball tour. We
wanted to hit every baseball park in the
country.
Of course, [former Oak Parker and
music producer] Don Was is a proud
Detroit flag bearer, and we've done a
couple of things together and remain
friends. We've been working for a while
on an idea for an Internet music show.
(Reiser and Was collaborated on "Final
Frontier," the theme song for Mad About
You.)

PR: I was lucky because comedy clubs
as we now know them were starting
when I was in college. When they were
casting the movie Diner (1982), they
came to the clubs for actors. Somebody
liked me and decided I'd be right for the
movie.

JN: How does someone who majored
in piano and music composition at
the State University of New York at
Binghamton turn to comedy and act-
ing?

PR: My parents wondered the same
thing. I didn't really know what I was
going to do with music. I wasn't on the

Paul Reiser

JN: How did you get into writing
books?

PR: I always tell my wife that if it
wasn't for her, I'd have no act. My com-
edy career has been based on talking
about my marriage and my children.
The first book, Couplehood, was tak-
ing my standup and making it work for
a book. The second book, Babyhood, was
reporting what was going on when we
had our first son.
The most recent book, Familyhood,
was written 15 years later, and I got a
little more thoughtful and looked at life

PR: In Married (FX), I play a guy in
his late 50s with a 32-year-old wife. It's
like the joke of the show; everybody is
wondering why we're together. It's funny
to be the older guy in the group.
Another show, Red Oaks, is being
streamed on Amazon. It's about a coun-
try club in New Jersey in 1985. I play
the big macher at the club. I'm writing a
third show.

JN: Do you bring Jewish themes into
your act?

PR: They're in there, but I don't talk
about them much. It's sort of a presump-
tion. When I play an audience that's
more Jewish, they get things on a dif-
ferent level. It's a little like playing for
family.

JN: How about Judaism in your own
family?

PR: My younger son was bar mitzva-
hed last year. I asked why he liked being
Jewish, and he said he liked the food
and the humor. He narrowed it down to
brisket and Mel Brooks. He's funny and
taking an improv class. If he didn't have
to work too hard to go into show busi-
ness, he'd sign up.

❑

Paul Reiser will appear at 7:30
p.m. Wednesday, Oct.1, at the
Max M. Fisher Music Center, 3711
Woodward, in Detroit. There will be
a pre-glow with hors d'oeuvres at
6:30 p.m. Tickets start at $50 (ages
18-40) and $100. (248) 559-8235;
kadimacenter.org .

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