Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – A pair of comics remedy the winter doldrums: Julie Halston in DECLASSIFIED! and Colin Quinn in SMALL TALK

• By drediman
• February 1, 2023
• No Comments

Few things can remedy the winter doldrums than attending a diverting comedy show. Over the past few days, I was able to take in a pair of inspired solo performances by comics who did just that. Here are my thoughts.

JULIE HALSTON: DECLASSIFIED!
Birdland
Closed

First up was Broadway funny lady Julie Halson, who was “Back by Popular Demand” at Birdland Jazz Club with her latest set entitled Declassified! (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). Those of you familiar with Ms. Halston’s stage work on and off Broadway (over the decades, she’s honed her comedic chops as one of Charles Busch’s muses) know that no one steals a scene quite so emphatically and hilariously as she does. Luckily, here she’s got a show all her own to do just that. Throughout the sketch-filled evening, she sent her adoring fans into hysterics with line readings that juiced every ounce of humor from whatever she’s spouting at the moment. Whether she’s recounting her First Communion or telling stories of her online dating adventures or simply reading an Ann Landers column, there’s priceless genius in the way she delivers her material (I know it’s a common turn of phrase, but I would gladly pay to hear her literally read the phone book). Suffice to say, the sold out Birdland audience ate up every delicious wisecrack and perfectly timed double-take with absolute relish.

COLIN QUINN: SMALL TALK
Lucille Lortel Theatre
Through February 11

Then downtown at Greenwich Village’s newly spiffed-up Lucille Lortel Theatre (I particularly enjoyed the comfortable new seats!), the loveably scruffy comedian Colin Quinn can be currently seen performing his one man show Small Talk (RECOMMENDED). His latest piece begins innocuously enough with amusing banter around the merits small talk. As he paints a a more fulsome picture, Mr. Quinn stealthily evolves his observation-based discourse — a hybrid between stand-up comedy and theatrical monologue — into a more somber critique of human behavior and human society at large (kudos to director James Fauvell). There’s a muscularity and intensity in the comedian’s performance that contrasts strikingly with Ms. Halston’s more carefully-honed delivery. As such, Small Talk seems designed for consumption by the stereotypical straight man, whereas Ms. Halston’s meticulously outrageous aesthetic seems right up a lot of gay men’s alley. Although I admittedly had more unadulterated fun at Ms. Halston’s show (you can easily guess which demographic I fall in), there’s no denying the intelligent craft and overarching vision of Mr. Quinn’s work here.