Confessionsofa comedian
David Sedans' show kept audience in continuous
laughter with embellished non-fiction and sardonic jabs
BY JOSH LINTEREUR
PULSE REPORTER
Toward the end of his appearance
Friday night at the Hult Center, David
Sedaris made a confession.
Live performances, he explained,
are his testing ground for new materi
al, most of which he rewrites on a
nightly basis. And though he some
times feels compelled to come clean
regarding his use of unpolished mate
rial with a paying audience, it's a de
tail he saves forthe end.
"I never get up beforehand and
say, this next story I'm just not sure
about at all, it meanders and doesn't
really come to any conclusion, but
you paid handsomely to be here, so
let's all just try to have a good time,"
he said to the audience. "I try to save
that information to the very end, and
then I apologize if I need to."
Judging by the near continuous
rumble of laughter during his more
than 90-minute performance, the
best-selling author, playwright and
National Public Radio contributor did
n't owe any apologies.
Standing behind a lectern, the
nasally voiced author elevated his al
ready hilarious prose by speaking
with a masterful sense of comedic
r
rhythm, pausing at just the right mo
ments and using the subtlest inflec
tions for effect.
Sedaris opened by reading a new
ly penned fable about a cat and ba
boon. Filled with sardonic jabs at
class tension, the story tread new
ground forthe writer, whose work
can be typically classified as embel
lished non-fiction.
He followed the fable with two
essays that occasionally delved into
bawdy territory with references to
a bestiality magazine and a
particularly nasty boil Sedaris re
cently developed.
Throughout the evening, Seda ris
showed his uncanny ability to find an
awkward sort of tenderness in the
most bizarre situations. While read
ing, "Old Faithful," a story about rela
tionships thatappeared in The New
Yorker, he recalled the time his father
randomly blurted out that he'd always
remained faithful to Sedaris' mother.
Looking back, Sedaris put into per
spective what he believes was not a
matter of a guilty conscience, but a
search for self-worth.
"Sometimes the sins you haven't
committed are all that you have to
hold onto," he said. "If you're really
desperate, you might need to grope.
For example, I've never killed any
one— with a hammer. Or, I've never
stolen from anyone, who didn't
deserve it."
Even when not reading from one of
his masterfully composed essays,
Sedaris' darkly irreverent wit ap
peared effortless. During a brief ques
tion and answer session nearthe end
of the show, an audience member in
quired about Sedaris' brother, who
appears frequently in the author's sto
ries. Sedaris invoked laughter and
cringing as he talked about how his
brother had recently become a father.
"She adores him," he said of his
brother’s daughter. "If you gave that
baby a gun and said, ok, you have to
shoot one of your parents, she would
n't even think, she would shoot her
mother like that. And that must be the
greatestfeeling."
Sedaris also plugged a new book
he edited, "Children Playing Before a
Statue of Hercules." Sales of the book
are donated to 826NYC, a nonprofit tu
toring center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The book contains short stories by
contemporary literary giants such as
Alice Munro, Joyce Carol Oates and
Tobias Wolff, who Sedaris cited as a
major influence.
"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for
Tobias Wolff. Every time I think of
killing myself, I think, well, he has a
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Courtesy
Best-sellling author David Sedaris showed his ability to find
tenderness in bizarre situations during his show at the Hult Center.
new book coming out," he said.
After the show, the man labeled a
"literary rock star" by The New York
Times, showed the dedication and hu
mility that have helped him establish
an enormous following. Though he is
currently touring 31 cities in 31 days,
the author was in no rush to leave. In
stead Sedaris sat at a table graciously
signing autographs and politely en
gaging each person that approached
the table.
joshlintereur@dailyemerald.com
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