Rita Rudner Brings the Laughs to Harrah's
Comedienne Rita Rudner has been cracking up audiences with her deceptively soft-spoken delivery and her witty jokes about men, women and relationships for 26 years.
Rudner calls herself a “personal comedienne,” meaning that she makes herself the butt of most of her jokes. She says that her comedy an integration of punch lines, absurdist humor and observational comedy.
While people can bring their teenager or parents to her show because she uses no curse words, Rudner also attracts a lot of couples because one of her focuses is relationship humor. The other is commonality of experience. Some of her favorite topics are marriage, dating, parenthood, shopping and even the economic crisis.
Even with her Las Vegas act, Rudner still found to write “I Still Have It ... I Just Can’t Remember Where I Put It (Confessions of a Fiftysomething),” a collection of humorous essays released in 2008 which she sells and personally autographs after her show.
“I know I’ve written a good joke when people recognize themselves in my joke,” says Rudner, who recently extended her run at Harrah's through 2012. “In that respect, I think that my new book is the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s funny and relatable because, after 50, life gets a little deeper.
"I’m also known for my relationship humor, and I get a lot of newlyweds at my show. I write from an older perspective, but I get all generations of people.”
Rudner, who began her professional life as a ballet dancer, has been doing comedy since 1983. She notes that her performance is cathartic.
“I go out on stage and people laugh for an hour and 20 minutes,” Rudner explains. “They feel better, and even I feel better.”
- by Bobbie Katz, Las Vegas Reporter for HelloMetro
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