THE BEAT
New York Comics
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 13, 1997) -- "Dying is easy, it's comedy that's hard," goes the old saw. And these days, it's truer than ever, when aspiring comedians are judged more for their potential value as TV stars than strictly for their worth as stand-up comics.
In the wake of Robin Williams and Billy Crystal -- who worked their way up the comedy circuit from the clubs to the cable shows to network TV and into films -- the world of stand-up comedy has been totally transformed. Where once stand-up was an end-in-itself -- where it was considered an achievement to consistently work as a stand-up comedian -- now stand-up is merely a breeding ground for comic actors, epitomized by the likes of Jerry Seinfeld.
Local comedy fans will get a chance to sample the up-and-coming generation of stand-up comics -- any one of whom might be the next Seinfeld, or not -- on Friday night at the Studio in downtown Pittsfield, when the entertainment venue at the former England Bros. department store hosts an evening of New York comedy featuring seven comics, all of whom are veterans of the New York comedy clubs and some of whom have already gotten their feet wet on cable and network TV.
"No one does stand-up to be a stand-up comic anymore," said comic David Cooperman, one of the seven scheduled to perform tomorrow night, in a phone interview from New York last week. "There are a few cases where you hear of a `comic's comic' who will always be there, but that's not where the money is anymore."
"There is a set pattern where everyone now aspires to being a movie actor eventually, jumping from one form to another. You have to be successful in one thing to get to another. You have to be successful in the clubs to get to TV, and you have to be successful in TV to get to movies."
In his mid-20s, Cooperman is already a veteran of the New York club scene, having played all the top places, including Caroline's, the Improv, the Comic Strip and Stand Up NY. An alumnus of Mt. Greylock Regional High in Williamstown and Mt. Anthony High School in Bennington, Vt., the North Pownal, Vt.- native is the son of Studio founder Mort Cooperman.
Cooperman says he inherited his sense of humor from his mother, and admits that his first attempts at comedy came at the expense of teachers in high school. "I'm more shy and a lot more serious now than I was in high school," he said.
It was in college at the University of Vermont in Burlington where Cooperman figured out that his propensity to be a cut-up was more than just a case of adolescent acting-out. "I realized that I had no common sense and I wasn't book smart," he said. "I started doing this `Saturday Night Live'-type thing at school, where I wrote a two-hour show that was performed each semester. That's where I first got the idea I'd go into comedy."
Cooperman said the comics he admires most include Seinfeld and Williams, as well as Mel Brooks and Woody Allen. His own material is in the same vein as Billy Crystal, "in terms of talking about home life and things like that," he said.
The other comics on the bill include Ron Smith, whose specialty includes political material and lots of interaction with the audience. Pat Downey can currently be seen in the Eveready Energizer "Bunnyspotter" TV commercial. Cooperman described his material as "dark." Downey's brother, Kevin, has been on Comedy Central on HBO and is a "character comic" in the tradition of Bobcat Goldthwaite.
Ted Alexandro recently appeared on Conan O'Brien's late-night, TV talk show, as has Canadian Ian Bag, who milks his experience as an immigrant for laughs. Tom Papa, whom Cooperman called "Mr. Likable," has been on Comedy Central and NBC's "Friday Night Videos."
Backstage bits
This month and next are seeing the likes of Shawn Colvin, Barenaked Ladies and Throwing Muses in Northampton, and Sheryl Crow, the Wallflowers, Ani DiFranco and Paula Cole in Albany. Meanwhile, we in the Berkshires are stuck with a slew of clone bands and cut-rate, recycled rockers at the Studio, most of whom have ALREADY played around here in the past year or so. It's about time for Mort Cooperman and the Studio to live up to their promise and present some bands with musical integrity and cultural relevance....A few afterthoughts about "Hype," the film documentary about the Seattle grunge scene that was shown at Images Cinema in Williamstown a few weeks ago: From the sound of it, some of the best bands on that scene were female bands like 7 Year Bitch, the Gits and the Fastbacks. It's too bad none of them made it as big as Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Speaking of which, can it be possible that Eddie Vedder is as totally moronic as he seemed every time he opened his mouth in the film?....
The CC's Cafe series at North Adams State College continues this Saturday with a performance by Jess Klein, followed by Dana Robinson on Feb. 22, Jon Carmen on March 1, Annie Wenz on March 8, The Wiggins Sisters on March 29, Michael Donovan on April 5, Bob Malone on April 12, Peg Loughran on April 19, Les Sampou on April 26, and Sharon Kennedy on May 3. All shows are in the Sullivan Lounge in the Campus Center at 9....
The annual Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale, N.Y., will kick off on Friday, July 25, with a new artists showcase capped by a nighttime, round-robin song swap featuring Janis Ian, David Wilcox, Cheryl Wheeler and Greg Brown. All four will also do mainstage solo sets and workshops throughout the festival, which runs through Sunday, July 27....
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Feb. 13, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
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