As the sounds of "New York, New York" faded and the lights dimmed, a hush fell over the sold-out crowd at the Overture Center Friday night.
Nostalgic visions of the "puffy shirt" and the "Soup Nazi" danced in the heads of the eager audience until finally the highly anticipated moment arrived and Jerry Seinfeld glided onto the stage to deliver an evening of side-splitting laughter.
"Here we are at the Overture," the comedic genius proclaimed, with wide eyes and exaggerated hand gestures. "The Overture," he repeated in a snooty, breathy tone, "…classy." Seinfeld certainly looked the part of the sophisticate, trading in his trademark tapered jeans and white sneakers for a chic black suit and leather wingtips.
Following a light-hearted opening performance by long-time friend and fellow observational comedian, Mark Schiff, Seinfeld kept the audience rolling in the aisles with his jokes about "nothing" ranging from topics like terrorism to popular breakfast cereals.
Known for his ability to find comedy in even the most humdrum situations, Seinfeld kicked off the hour-and-a-half laughfest with the casual topic of weather, noting the gorgeous day in Madison, and numerous conversations he'd had with people that day about the blue skies and comfortable temperatures — and the pointlessness of weather conversations. He even made sure to answer his favorite stupid weather question that people see fit to ask constantly: "Do you think it will stay like this?"
Over the course of the show, Seinfeld showed he hasn't lost his sarcastic edge. He made quips about the arrogance of LIFE cereal and how it might just as well be called "Almighty God cereal," discussed the overuse of monkey bars in terrorist training camps and even announced to the audience that their lives all "sucked." According to Seinfeld, there is not a great deal of difference between "great" situations and times that "suck." "Your lives suck, my life sucks," he said, adding that his life sucked slightly less than those in the audience.
That's quite an understatement from a man whose sitcom ended 7 years ago, but is still played in heavy syndication and is currently reaping the benefits of the high-grossing "Seinfeld" DVD sets. Seasons 5 and 6 are set for release Nov. 22, and rumor has it the special-gift-set edition will give fans an actual puffy shirt to call their own.
Other than that, Seinfeld admitted in his routine that since the end of his sitcom, he does "nothing." Now 51, he joked about married life and his family, which now consists of three children, including the newest addition, his son Shepard, who was born at the end of August.
Throughout his performance, however, Seinfeld showed no signs of family life wearing him down. He not only delivered a hilarious set of jokes, but also kept the intensity going with great use of motions, pantomiming comical acts such as riding a horse in a playground and a person dying and falling to the ground as if they were linked to their dying cell phone battery.
The show's hour-and-a-half duration flew by and left the audience wanting more. Seinfeld received a standing ovation from the crowd and was gracious enough to come back and field some questions from the auditorium full of adoring fans. When one fan shouted from the balcony asking whether Seinfeld would be at Saturday's football game against Michigan, the comedian responded matter-of-factly, "No, I'm not. I would, but I just don't care."
Even though Jerry Seinfeld isn't a Badger fan, his performance showed he's still one of the funniest comedians out there. The show was definitely worth the lofty ticket price.
