COMEDY PREVIEW
Judah Friedlander
8 p.m. Nov. 13 ($20); 8 and 10:30 p.m. Nov. 14-15 ($25). The Atlanta Improv, 56 E. Andrews Drive N.W., Atlanta. www.theimprovatlanta.com.
Judah Friedlander brings a special kind of confidence to his stand-up. Sure, he may look like Steven Wright’s even more stoned younger brother. But he belies his schlubby appearance with a level of comical arrogance that is not at all offensive but hilariously self-referential.
Nicknamed (by himself) "The World Champion," the "30 Rock" star returns to Atlanta for the first time in several years for three nights at the Atlanta Improv Nov. 13-15.
His last stop here was at the Punchline around 2008. “It’s nothing personal,” he said. “I am allowed to go to McDonald’s and Burger King.”
He gamely answered our silly questions:
Q: If you were a cannibal and your potential meal was Tina Fey or Alec Baldwin, who do you think would be tastier?
A: I'm going with Tina because she loves food so much. I figure she's such a foodie, she'd taste good, too.
Q: If you were forced to wear the same trucker cap every day for the rest of your life, what would it say?
A: "World champion." I still have the title!
Q: How would you solve the zombie apocalypse?
A: I think dentistry is the key. You have them remove the zombie's teeth and they'll just gnaw on you with their gums. It'd be like a great massage!
Q: What’s the dumbest TV show you watch on a regular basis?
A: I don't have a show I watch on a regular basis. Once in a while, I catch "Blue Bloods." It's filmed in Queens. I like that.
Q: So you are obsessed with Tom Selleck?
A: It's more about Donnie Wahlberg. Gotta call it like I see it!
Q: What’s the strangest place you’ve done stand-up?
A: Twenty years ago, I did a 3:30 a.m. show on a really crappy boat circling Manhattan with prom students. Prom students didn't really want to hear jokes at 3:30 in the morning. And it took me three months to get paid!
Q: With Ebola all the rage, do you feel more paranoid hugging people? (He was the “hugger” in the Dave Matthews video “Everyday.”)
A: Nah … I am not worried about Ebola. This country has got to toughen up. We've gotten all wimpy and scared of everything.
Q: There’s a downtown place called Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium. Lady Gaga, Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller and Susan Sarandon have all played pingpong there. Do you try to play wherever you go?
A: I do. I travel with my paddle. Those are all cool people I can beat! It's the second most popular sport behind soccer.
Q: How is your pingpong play as you get older?
A: I've been defying science. I keep getting faster!
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