Comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and his band of puppets had the crowd in hysterics at NYCB Theatre at Westbury last Friday, August 15 when his routine turned to the topic of comedy itself.
After starting with a clip of his four main puppets—Peanut, Walter, Achmed the Dead Terrorist and Bubba J—getting arrested for various reasons, Dunham reminisced about his world tour, in which he performed in both the Middle East and Israel within two weeks of one another. Despite their differences, both overseas crowds found his performance equally hysterical, he recalled during the show, dubbed Disorderly Conduct.
“It only takes a handful of idiots to f*** it all up,” Dunham joked during his opening stand-up act, noting that despite the continuing conflict in that region, there are mostly good people in the world who share the same values of family, health and love.
That’s when Dunham was met by his first “guest,” Walter, the bow-tie-wearing bitter, old man puppet whose hatred of everything and overall miserableness got the audience roaring with laughter.
Later came Peanut the purple neurotic “woozle” and his sidekick, monotone Jose the Jalapeno on a Stick, who balance each other out and spend their time on stage together bickering.
The skeletal Achmed the Dead Terrorist, Duhman’s most popular puppet, closed the show by cracking religious jokes and doing a Q&A with random members of the audience. Their laughter, as usual, was met with his catch phrase: “Silence! I kill you!”
Dunham, who is reportedly the top-grossing comedian in North America, also advertised his new ventriloquist puppet—a mini replica of himself—that he now has for sale. It comes with a few written skits along with a DVD and book with lessons on how to be a ventriloquist. Because, as his performance illustrated, the world can always use more laughter.
For future mind-blowing live performances at NYCB Theatre at Westbury, check out their page in the Island Ear!
