Sunday, July 28, 1996
Political satirist spares no one from his truthful tirade
By Alicia Cheak
Summer Bruin Contributor
On stage, political satirist Mort Sahl lampoons just about
everything. Nothing escapes his caustic tongue. With the
presidential elections around the corner and political
consciousness higher than usual, his new one-man show, "America,"
is timed perfectly.
Sahl’s satires criticize American politics, highlighting its
absurdity and its defects.
"God bless Bill Clinton and Bob Dole … long may they waiver,"
he says, sparing neither Republicans nor Democrats. In fact, these
days he attacks the liberals with just as much, if not greater
vehemence.
His anecdotes about campaign parties thrown by democratic
celebrities and the schemes employed to secure those venerated
blank checks are hilarious.
Sahl recalls how, at a party given by Barbara Streisand, the
rumor that he liked John F. Kennedy resulted in an evening of
various individuals trying to tempt his checkbook by comparing
Clinton and Dukakis to Kennedy.
"The century tried to turn, but it couldn’t get through
Congress" is another taunt at the system.
Sahl is irreverent in his performance and forsakes all sacred
cows. In short, he destroys pretensions and tells the truth, adding
a little humor for entertainment on the way.
"I’m trying to tell people the truth and keep it funny," Sahl
says, and adds that while most comedians deal with escapist
material like sex, music and drugs, he "thought the funniest stuff
was true."
"I talk from my heart rather than making up a persona," he says.
On stage, he is clad in his signature V-shaped sweater and a
newspaper in his hand  a physical image of the "intelligencia
comedy" of which he is credited to be the founder. The genuine wit
comes across when he opens his mouth. And when he begins, he is
relentless.
"Are there any groups I have not offended?" is his famous line
after his swift attacks of almost every social category we have
invented. Of course, in order to appreciate this show, you would
need to be up to date on America’s political situation. But because
the scope of material is so wide, there is at least something you
will respond to and understand.
Sahl delivers his anecdotal materials in ways so unassuming that
at times, it is easy to miss the sarcasm. He is mild-mannered and
off-hand in his act. At 66, he isn’t energetic onstage, but rather
paces around nervously fidgeting and dropping his remarks as part
of a casual conversation. His audience is his equal, and just
because he is the only one talking, doesn’t mean that he fancies
himself superior.
"The audience never lets me down," Sahl says, adding that "they
are very smart. They know who’s lying to them politically … down
in the gut, they know what’s right … you have to lie to them
which proves that they are pretty decent people." When the show
opens, the first thing he says is how amazed he is that there is an
audience waiting for him. He closes the act on the same note,
expressing his gratitude for the people out there. He seems
sincere, but then again, you can never be too sure.
As a social critic, Sahl wants to bring issues into the
spotlight. He is an observer, an odd-ball on the outskirts who
listens in.
"I’m just a guy with my nose against the glass looking inside,"
he says. It is a difficult image to swallow when you consider the
fact that he has rubbed shoulders with Kennedy, Ford, Eisenhower
and more contemporary figures like Reagan, Bush and Clinton.
As a comedian, he wants to make people laugh, even if it is at
their own follies.
"First, we’re trying to entertain people and then they can take
the information and make up their minds," Sahl explains. "What I
try and do is to turn it around and maybe bring a couple of things
which they might then consider which will alter their
conclusions."
Most importantly, his satires are a means of reacting to the
realities of America.
"It is deploying your intellect because you are depressed by
what you see emotionally, to keep laughing so you won’t start
crying," Sahl says. So America is not the golden vision it used to
be. Sahl does a thorough job stripping it of its illusions in his
satires, but in the process, he has provided a means for the people
to have a good laugh at their own foibles, all the while aware of
their shortcomings.
STAGE: Mort Sahl’s "America" at The Tiffany Theater; July 17-
Aug 11; Wednesday-Sunday; $25-30. For more info. call (310)
289-2999.