Much has been made, so the promotional material goes, of how, “In a city of cabarets and production shows, Rita Rudner is one of the few female headliners who has achieved success by keeping her clothes on.” It’s not simply that the comic/author/screenwriter/actress’ language and subject matter are comparatively clean, nor that her timing is so impeccable she can somehow put emphasis on even her pauses, essentially creating applause breaks on demand. There’s a sense of history gleaned from watching her in her element at Harrah’s main showroom, something akin to having a professor of comedy demonstrate how the business was built on a wealth of subtlety, insight and wit. She proves there’s much more to the art form than hyperactivity and bawdiness, and she’s set to prove it on a much wider scale with her first TV special in a decade.
The former Broadway dancer religiously studied the likes of Woody Allen and Jack Benny while coming of age as a comedian in the ’80s. Her measured, relaxed style and then-groundbreaking take on relationships, shopping and all those little moments that make life so befuddlingly worthwhile earned her slots on Carson and Bob Hope specials, as well as a handful of HBO outings. Rudner never really needed the freedom that HBO provided, however, as she was always wickedly dry but never off-putting. The network having since shifted focus to original programming over specials—and Rudner’s demographic having aged in the interim—she’s found herself seeking an outlet with room for a gentler form of comedy, one that requires no paid subscription.
Rita Rudner: Live from Las Vegas airs locally on PBS March 17 at 9 p.m. and marks the first time the public station has ever aired a comedy special. Additionally, the hour (taped February 22) will be released on DVD, Rudner’s first experience with the format. The disc’s bonus features will include 10 to 15 minutes of additional material as well as segments from 2003 advice/comedy talk show Ask Rita. Live marks Rudner’s 2,000th show in Vegas and will air nationally in June, though local audiences who pledge to PBS during the airing’s pledge drive will get first crack at the DVD and her upcoming book, I Still Have It, I Just Can’t Remember Where I Put It.
The best write what they know, and after seven-plus years in residence, Rudner knows Vegas. In addition to the men-and-plastic-surgery meat-and-potatoes of her current act, Live takes on Sin City in all its ever-evolving glory. “We’ve got the best restaurants and the best stores,” she marvels. “The shows are getting better, the hotels; everything seems to be elevated every couple of years.” Yet true to form, her surface perceptions are bolstered by deeply felt personal truths: “I was a little afraid of taking my daughter to school, and the fear was warranted. I took my daughter to kindergarten in Vegas … It was the first time I’d ever seen a playground with a stripper’s pole.”
Just as the city has evolved, Rudner has evolved right along with it. She’s never looked better, performed better or, dare we guess, been happier. Hopefully it won’t take another 10 years for her next special to capture a similar moment in time.