You must be tired, having just moved to The Venetian. What do
you like best about your new venue? Well, I’ve moved to a better-smelling hotel of course. On top of that, I can now take a gondola to work. When I came to live in Las Vegas, I was ecstatic because I never thought I’d be able to take one to The Gap, but now I can ride it to
work every day. I can even get some exercise in by swimming home. I absolutely love it!
How great it must be to have your own personal gondolier, a chauffeur in a sense, both to take you shopping and to work. Well, it is! However, my husband Martin [Bergman] has placed
photos of my face in each store with a big, red X across my face to alert employees to the fact I’m not allowed inside to shop. With this move in the New Year, you can officially say that you’ve not only traveled, but also lived and worked around the world. All of this without ever
leaving the Las Vegas city limits. Yes, I’ve been from the stages of New York to Italy—from one end of the strip to the other. Manhattan to Venice and everywhere in be- tween, although I’m not sure where in the world my stop at Harrah’s was.
Well, we’ll just say that Harrah’s was simply Las Vegas, of course. Yes, I guess I can’t complain because I’ve done Vegas at its best. Now I
live in Venice, Italy and I even get to travel other places to do my show to make people laugh whenever I can. Life is good!
To what do you attribute your success? Timing is everything and I came here to Las Vegas at the right time. I’d
already built a following that was substantial from all my work on the road and all those years on TV. Also, I think I get very good word of mouth because I do my best every time I step on that stage to give them my best show to date.
I can attest to that because I saw you perform at the New York, New York Hotel back in 2004 and I loved your show. I’m sure you’ve only grown better with time. Oh wow! How cool. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed my show firsthand. I’m sure what-
ever night it was I was doing my best for the audience. You know people come to Las Vegas for special occasions, whether it’s for their anniversaries or birthdays. Whatever it is, it’s my job to do my best.
From Broadway to the comedy clubs of Manhattan, from television
to Las Vegas, Rita Rudner is one of the funniest and most hard-work- ing comics in the business today. Known for her trademark epigram- matic style, she has performed almost exclusively in Las Vegas since 2001 and sold more than a million tickets to her shows. Still, who is this Rita Rudner? Is she a dancer, a Broadway baby,
even? Maybe she’s an author with five books to her credit. Perhaps she’s a screenwriter, collaborating with her husband Martin Berg- man. Or a playwright? Talk show host? A stand-up comedienne whose three TV specials have won her multiple awards? She recently took time out of her busy schedule to talk with The
Rage Monthly and we learned, truth be told, Rudner is all these things in one glamour-wrapped, high-heel-wearing package who is right at home on stage. Most of all, these days she’s a mom who uses the happenings of her everyday life to do her job and make people laugh.
You absolutely prove to be at your best on stage. My best friend and I left in tears from laughter. What can we expect from you when you walk on the stage at Balboa Theatre in San Diego on March 3? I get that question a lot and my best answer is, “honestly I have no idea because I’m not there yet!” What I do know for sure is that I’ll have lots of jokes and I’m sure by that time I’ll have something to say about my experience that has led me there to San Diego. How do you prepare for your shows? Have you done your act for so long that it just comes to you? Well somewhat. I’ll likely get there a bit early, walk around and look at the theater
and I’ll figure it out as it comes to me. My acts generally—if they’re alive—will simply appeal to people and will be about things the audience can relate to. I mean I can sit here on the phone and tell you jokes, but I wouldn’t want to bore you. Do you keep your funny side regulated to the stage? For the most part I hate to tell jokes when I’m not on stage. Because then people feel like they have to laugh when you stop talking to them and that’s very uncomfortable for everyone involved. So therefore, I only tell jokes when I’m on stage. You’ve been onstage for some time, because before you were a comedian you were a Broadway dancer. Indeed I was. I was a dancer because I hated sitting down.
Why the career change? I thought it would be a good idea because there weren’t too many female stand-ups. But I didn’t know how difficult it was going to be. Then again, if I knew how difficult anything was, then I wouldn’t have tried to do anything. I would just stay at home and eat ice cream. I think it was the best decision I’ve ever made and it’s the best profession. I love doing
FEBRUARY 2011 | RAGE monthly 49
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