Martin fights crazy crowd
by Don A. Metivier, The Post-Star, August 7, 1979
Comedian Steve Martin made his debut at Saratoga Performing Arts Center Sunday before a wild and somewhat crazy audience.
The former Emmy-winning comedy writer for the Smothers Brothers, Sonny and Cher and Pat Paulsen has skyrocketed to fame with television appearances on Saturday Night Live and other shows and his top-selling albums “Let’s Get Small” and “A Wild and Crazy Guy.”
His lines are among the most quoted in the country, and his routines are familiar to millions, all of which contributed to the problems of his performance Sunday night.
After drawing 6,605 Sunday afternoon, he attracted 8,338 to the late evening show, too many of whom thought they could be funnier than Martin.
Martin is a witty, sensitive, very talented individual, and he has put together a well-staged show that relies on sight gags, fine timing and an audience that pays attention.
Following a very entertaining warm-up by singer-songwriter-guitarist (‘The Train They Call the City of New Orleans”) Steve Goodman, Martin showed a motion picture he had produced with Aspen Films that set the stage for his zany antics.
Martin is a modern-day vaudevillian. He plays the banjo, sings, juggles oranges and cats (he carefully explains, “We don’t hurt those little kitty cats here on stage, we do bad things to them after the show, but we don’t hurt them on stage”) and does stand-up comedy complete with outrageous sight gags.
He was well into the show when repeated shouts from the audience stopped him cold near the end of a routine. “Why don’t you shut up,” he yelled at the would-be comics, and never finished the routine.
His timing obviously off, he continued but stopped twice more to try to have those in the audience who were annoying him and the majority of the crowd stop their “performing.”
He was not successful.
Martin completed the evening singing his hit record, “King Tut,” backed by a recorded soundtrack, while dancing on the stage. He then mumbled some words about being happy to be in Saratoga — “I like your water, I’d drink it over Perrier if it were available nationally” – and walked off to be whisked to the Gideon Putnam in a limo.
Martin is the best-known and most popular comedian of the day, and it was disappointing that his extremely well-planned and well-produced stage show could not be enjoyed to its fullest by the 8,338 on hand Sunday evening. It is to his credit that he was able to continue as well as he did in the face of the “amateur hour” competition from the audience.
Recent Comments