Friday evening at the Wang Center, Jerry Seinfeld cavorted on stage with a basic black backdrop and an ordinary microphone stand, performing his style of comedy, famous for seeing the ordinary in a different light.
Seinfeld performed a 90-minute set to a crowd that awarded him with laughter. Although his style remains subtle, his demeanor was animated, with an entrance that was slightly more Kramer than Jerry.
The first sound of his voice produced a split second hush of excitement and disbelief, but the audience members seemed jolted out of any surreal daze by the pains in their sides. With uncharacteristic exaggerated facial expressions, he romped around a glass of water on a wooden stool belting out lines like, “People are stopping for coffee on the way to Starbucks now!” and “Star 69? No one picked up on that? Not one phone employee went to junior high school?”
Seinfeld discussed the cold weather and mixed a few other topical subjects into his performance, including some brief invective about the Red Sox. However, some of his material came from Comedian, his 2002 documentary about returning to stand-up after his nine-year stint with the extraordinarily successful NBC sitcom “Seinfeld.”
The film, which includes appearances by other big name comedians such as Chris Rock and Colin Quinn, explores the routine’s creation from its inception. It takes a close look at Seinfeld’s thought process as he tests out new material and occasionally struggles to return to his first love.
Apparently, the glimpse of the routine in the movie was enough to bring people out to see him live. Wang Center Manager Eric Neill said the theater added more shows after tickets sold out within the first day. Tickets for the four shows on Friday and Saturday ranged from $48 to $78.
As attendees took their seats, the sounds of Frank Sinatra echoed off the ornate walls – a departure from the bumpy slap bass that precedes “Seinfeld” episodes.
Comedian Mario Joyner opened for Seinfeld with a similar style of humor, also playing off daily life’s absurdity. The audience roared as he concluded his set with a bit about those who rip tickets at movie theaters: “How do you apply for a job like that? Throw a bunch of confetti in the air and say, ‘I believe my résumé speaks for itself.'”
Yada, yada, yada, indeed.