Comic says political jokes cost job

The producer of a recent evening of improv comedy and cultural and political commentary at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum believes he was asked to step down from that post by the museum board because of some jokes directed at President Bush.

Comedian Peter Bergman -- best known for his work with the comedy troupe Firesign Theatre -- said the Oct. 1 “First Friday” event called “Laugh L.A.” “was supposed to shake up the culture, but really, we weren’t left of ‘The Daily Show’.”

Which is why Bergman is perplexed that he’s no longer producing the shows.

“I was asked to step down from my post,” Bergman said this week. “I was told by Vanda Vitali [the museum’s vice president of public programs] ‘the museum doesn’t trust you anymore.’ ” Basically, said Bergman only half-joking, “You’ve heard about the NEA Four? Now we’re the NHM Four.”

The Oct. 1 bill featured the L.A.-based comedy troupe the Groundlings, performance artist John Fleck (one of the NEA Four), and comedians Rick Overton and Frazer Smith, who also served as the evening’s host. “Overall it was a pretty tame evening,” Bergman recalled. “Frazer throwing out jokes like: ‘What’s the deal with all of these stretch Humvees? Operation Desert Prom?’ ”

But politics, of course, were part of the program, acknowledged Bergman -- and it’s that part of the show that perhaps didn’t play well with some members of the board, which asked him to leave with one show left to go on the monthly program. “I mean there was some Bush bashing and some questioning the culture. But it wasn’t a rude evening.”

Bergman said that of a crowd of about 300, 20 or so left early.

So he was shocked when he got a phone call the next day from Vitali, who, said Bergman, “asked me to step down as the producer. But I couldn’t get [her] to be specific.”

Vitali, who was traveling, couldn’t be reached for comment. Liza deVilla, vice president of marketing for the museum, said that the decision to part ways for a Dec. 3 event, “L.A. Street,” was not about specific content -- political or otherwise -- but about an overall fit.

“I don’t think anything out of the ordinary happened,” deVilla said Wednesday. “We know that stand-up appeals to different people in different settings. But we’re in a mode of experimenting ... trying to appeal to new audiences and trying to do performances that connect to our featured exhibits. So the decision was to just change course. And try something different.”

Still, Bergman, who said he signed a contract with the county museum, said the whole matter smacked of censorship.

“To say ‘we don’t trust you’ means what they don’t trust is the content,” he said. “And they can’t tell me specifically what it is. When I pressed her, she [Vitali] couldn’t tell me who was bothered or what they were bothered by. She just waffled enough to feed a whole prayer breakfast.”

Despite the dust-up, Bergman has a history with the museum -- a good one. He produced four events last year, showcasing writers and performers under the “L.A.: Live” banner, an off-shoot of the museum’s “L.A.: Light, Motion, Dreams.” After its success, he was asked to produce two more programs for “First” -- “Laugh L.A.” and “L.A. Street,” a play written by local poet Steve Abee, which Bergman envisioned as “a post-Beat performance honoring L.A.”

He said he was pressing forward, explaining, “I’m looking for a place to stage it.”

For the museum’s part, officials say that the decision came down to trying to create a competitive program that draws audiences.

“Right now, we’re trying to figure out what works for us,” deVilla said.

“Peter Bergman has so many different voices and different styles. So we hope to be able to work with him again sometime in the future. Just for this particular time of where we are in the trial process, he doesn’t quite fit.”