Theater Review

Tom Titus

Somewhere, in that great celestial green room, Lenny Bruce probably

was looking down on the Orange County Performing Arts Center Sunday

night, cursing the fact that he was born just too “bleeping” soon.

There was George Carlin, playing to a packed house and filling the air

with all the undeleted expletives that landed Lenny repeatedly in the

slammer 40 years ago -- and undoubtedly collecting bigger bucks for it

than Bruce ever saw. His only consolation: it’s unlikely that Dustin

Hoffman ever will star in a movie of George Carlin’s life story.

Carlin has carved out a nice, comfortable career with virtually the

same material that got Lenny in trouble with the legal puritans of the

1950s. His opening shot -- admonishing his audience to “go ‘bleep’

yourself” -- set the tone pretty succinctly.

Talking dirty on stage is one thing. Making it genuinely funny is

something else, and here Carlin has it all over Bruce. Carlin not only

possesses that talent, he drives his points home with a vengeance. His

90-minute routine pushes all the right buttons - the litany of life’s

everyday frustrations that bears the comic blessing of familiarity.

Take airport security. Please. Carlin would take it and deposit it

where the sun doesn’t shine, and he tells you why in no uncertain terms.

Comedy is constructed on exaggeration, and Carlin carries this topic to

its illogical conclusion, egged on by wildly cheering fans who obviously

know whereof he speaks.

Parents whose lives revolve around their children (and don’t most of

them?) may experience some discomfort at Carlin’s suggestions for child

raising. Again, exaggeration drives home his point, that the older folks

should get a life and let the kids develop at their own pace.

Carlin’s style is the epitome of economy. No introduction, no encore

and nothing on stage with him but the microphone and a table bearing his

notes, to which the comic refers infrequently. Dressed entirely in black,

his pony tail flapping behind his bald head, Carlin indulges in a series

of searing, scatological assaults on the artificial elements of society.

At times, Carlin seems to be going for the grade-school audience. His

extended routine about picking scabs from various portions body doesn’t

fully sell, and he acknowledges this, moving on to a different topic. He

also turns pitchman for an upcoming release of his material, both old and

new, although acknowledging he’s not altogether familiar in this role.

Still, most of Carlin’s routine, bleeps and all, is savagely funny.

The comic views life from a different, somewhat off-center, often

drug-related perspective, and his followers are true believers. No

youngster, he possesses a manic energy that reverberates with every rant.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews appear

Thursdays and Saturdays.