WILKES-BARRE — Seth Rudetsky knows Broadway, and by the time the audience leaves his Oct. 19 show in Kingston, his hope is they will too.
Rudetsky’s show at Wyoming Seminary’s Kirby Center for the Creative Arts, “Seth’s Big Fat Comedy Show,” is an informative comedy performance developed by the Broadway aficionado-turned entertainer at the behest of his former employer, Rosie O’Donnell. While writing for O’Donnell’s talk show, Rudetsky performed at a charity event, breaking down a song sung by both Barbara Streisand and Bea Arthur while comparing the two versions. O’Donnell convinced him to write a whole stand-up set based on the idea of comedic Broadway education, and 12 years later, class is still in session.
“It’s kind of like ‘The Daily Show’ slash “America’s Funniest Home Videos,’” Rudetsky said. “It’s me kind of with video clips and audio clips showing the audience the inside scoop on what’s amazing about Broadway. Instead of just being like, ‘She’s good,’ you learn how to deconstruct something about why the person is brilliant.”
Using 60 audio clips and 30 video clips, Rudetsky will use his stand-up comedy experience to deliver deconstructions to the Kirby Center for the Creative Arts crowd. He wants to entertain the crowd while equipping them with the vocabulary to describe different aspects of a singer’s voice.
In addition to his live show, Rudetsky hosts “Big Fat Broadway” and “Seth Speaks” on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s On Broadway station, where he showcases his knowledge of Broadway — it’s this impressive knowledge and entertaining material that drew the attention of David Schwager, board member of Jewish Community Alliance of Northeastern Pennsylvania and Temple Israel of Wilkes-Barre.
“He showcases things like the Osmonds singing a medley from “Fiddler on the Roof” or Cher performing every role in “West Side Story,” Schwager said. “He does sections on Barbara Streisand. It’s a very entertaining hour and a half or so of a show.”
Rudetsky said he’s going to double-down on Streisand material for Oct. 19’s show, but said the show is for everyone.
“You think it’s like, ‘Oh, hilariousness,’ but in actuality I want you to leave understanding what makes music brilliant so you can discuss it in more detail rather than, ‘Oh, she’s good, she’s bad.’”
For more information on “Seth’s Big Fat Broadway Show,” call 570-824-4646.
