A&E

Steve Martin and Martin Short keep the Colosseum in laughter

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Short and Martin during an April performance at the Colosseum.
Kate McKinney/SMG Lincoln

Four stars

Steve Martin & Martin Short July 23, the Colosseum.

It’s not fair. They make it look too easy. That’s how it goes with comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short, who don’t seem to have to try very hard to get a near-capacity Colosseum audience to laugh at every single joke.

That’s the case even though many jokes are about why they don’t really need to be playing Vegas. “I call this show, ‘If we saved, we wouldn’t be here,’” announces Short. (Actually, the vast majority of jokes were at each other’s expense, aka “Hollywood compliments.” Short says to Martin: “I look at your work, and I’m whelmed.” Martin says to Short: “I think of you as a renaissance man, and by that I mean you carry smallpox.”)

But effortless funny is a trick. It’s why they’re both great. There’s a lot of energy on stage for this show, which returns to Caesars Palace August 25 and October 29 and hopefully again after that. Short, of course, is manic and sweaty, culminating in his nude bodysuit-clad performance of “Stepbrother to Jesus” from his Fame Becomes Me musical, which is nothing short of hilarious. Martin saves his exertion for banjo jams with the Steep Canyon Rangers and perfectly timed punchlines to wrap quick anecdotes. His wacky story about meeting Elvis (and his guns) in Las Vegas (“Son, you have an oblique sense of humor”) brought the house down, but a few lines about his mother’s failing memory was just as funny and certainly more relatable. When mom asks about her husband—“Where’s Glenn?”—and her son explains that dad died three years ago, she fires back, “Well, that explains a lot.”

Martin and Short spend plenty of time on stage together and apart, and despite their great chemistry and contrasting styles, the show doesn’t dip when only one is performing. Audience members come up for a quick Three Amigos shoutout, Short does a human bagpipe bit, and Martin pretends to be a puppeteer so Short can do his Jiminy Glick character. It’s nearly two hours of effortless fun for all.

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Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of editor-at-large at Las Vegas Weekly magazine. ...

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