StarBulletin.com

Cosby superb in two hour show


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POSTED: Saturday, January 16, 2010

Two hours zipped by in no time at all late Friday night as Bill Cosby entertained a capacity crowd in the second of two sold-out shows in the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

At a time when most major comedians do 45 minutes, or maybe an hour, Cosby gave the fans their money's worth twice over with a show that combined his talents as a comedian, storyteller and philosopher.

He opened the late show around 9:45, starting with some good-natured interplay with emcee Kathy-With-a-K, then hosting a showcase performance by ukulele virtuoso Kalei Gamiao before getting down to business just before 10. For the next 130 minutes, it was all Cosby.

Age was one of his recurring themes. He described a telephone call from an “;old”; friend that quickly became an exercise in absurdity, and an argument he had with his “;old”; shadow because it wouldn't lift its feet when they were out for a walk (”;My shadow left me and sat down on a bench. When I got back, he was napping!”;).

Cosby explained that although he sits through his performances, that's what he's been doing for most of his 48 years in the business, and it's not because he's 72 years old. He has also always wandered from topic to topic in his monologues, so that's not because he's old either.

There was much wandering as promised, but every seemingly random change of topic turned out to be as entertaining as the one before.

A story about an ill-considered plan to serve fried turkey for Thanksgiving took a sudden detour as he pondered the intelligence of people who agree to appear on “;Judge Judy,”; as he performed an energetic impression of the television personality. He took a second lengthy detour to discuss another reality show, “;What Not to Wear,”; before getting back to the misadventures of the would-be turkey fryers. The whole thing came together into one long entertaining journey through Cosby's world.

He made personal experiences universal as he talked about the important lessons he's learned as a husband (”;The male learns how to behave”;), his experiences with his daughters' boyfriends, and his techniques for dealing with his grandchildren.

Cosby's skills as a comic actor were displayed in a lengthy and beautifully developed sketch about the time his three daughters took him and his wife out to dinner on her birthday, then discovered they didn't have enough money to pay for it. Cosby played all five characters. The crowd loved it.

There was also a hilarious visual element to his story about discovering that tourist-show hula dancers are able to dance as they do because they have batteries in their skirts!

Cosby also explained why his wife is not his “;friend,”; saying a friend would not move your shoes without telling you. A friend would not “;get tired”; of looking at your athletic trophies on the mantel and put them in a box in the garage without telling you. A friend wouldn't mind if they asked you what you were thinking about and you said, “;Nothing.”;

Many couples probably went home pondering which one of them had decided who slept on which side of the bed. (According to Cosby, the woman always makes the decision.)

Cosby closed a few minutes past midnight with a story about going to the dentist. In addition to being the narrator, he also played the parts of a talkative dentist and a hapless patient with a very numb face. The basic experience was universal; his performance was a superb combination of acting and physical comedy.

Two hours never passed so quickly.