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Tomorrow night at that posh Concert Hall on the Potomac River where I make a few bucks, I'm working two back-to-back performances with stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Both shows have been sold out for months, Kennedy Center employees who normally don't work in the Concert Hall have been fighting for a chance to work these shows, but for some reason, I have absolutely no interest in being there, and would gladly give up my place, if Management would let me (they won't).I can say that I categorically do not like Jerry Seinfeld, but I'm also categorically embarrassed to say I'm not sure why. I never saw one episode of his long-running situation comedy Seinfeld, I've never seen one of his many televised stand-up comedy shows, and I've never read any of his writings. So, what have I got against him? To paraphrase the old song title, "I don't know, why, I just don't".
If I'm completely honest though, I think the big turn-off for me is how overly hyped in the media he was throughout the run of his series. You couldn't pick up a magazine, watch a commercial or see an entertainment-related television show without someone waxing poetic about the genius that is Jerry Seinfeld, and that kind of thing has always been a turn-off for me. It reminds me of my younger days in motion picture distribution, where a weak picture would be given a "saturation booking", which means to book it into every theatre possible for as short a time as possible (usually no longer than two weeks), advertise as much as possible, and create a "buzz" about the picture so everyone will want buy a ticket out of curiosity, if for no other reason.
Rationally though, I know there was no 'saturation' job done on his hit comedy show; it had way too long a run to be able to sustain the ratings it received, so what is it with me and Seinfeld? Maybe he's just not my kind of comic...wait, hold that because I'm a big fan of comedians Eddie Izzard, Ray Romano, Paul Merton, Michael McIntyre, Jonathan Ross and other cutting edge comics, so that's not it either. Heck, even the Kennedy Center's press for this show states, " Jerry Seinfeld has an uncanny ability to joke about the little things in life that everyone relates to", and that description sounds suspiciously familiar to my very own description of Notes From the Light Side", so that theory is awash as well.
Anyway, while I can't put my finger on why I dislike him so, the situation will be resolved one way or another tomorrow night, because I'll be in close proximity to Mr Seinfeld and his wacky humor (yes, I'm being sarcastic there) for many hours, so I'll walk away either liking him intensely or disliking him more immensely. ** Either way I win though because, regardless of the outcome, I take comfort in the fact that some of Mr Seinfeld's money is going into my pocket.
(** As much as I hate to admit it, my gut instinct tells me I'm going to walk away liking him intensely. We'll see....)
