OK, just got back from a hilarious evening at a Jeff Dunham performance at the All State Arena outside of Chicago. It was hysterical, as expected. Here are a few brief summary/comments of the show:
1. I was surprised to hear the news that Dunham is now divorced from his wife. Walter was the one who brought out the topic with Dunham, and at time, it appeared that it might be going into a rather painful direction, but then, Walter being Walter, he brought the house down with the comedic angle to this. Dunham is extremely brave in using this material in his act, which I'm sure is still a rather sore subject.
2. The first female puppet, Diane, made her appearance. While it was a funny bit, it didn't have the same drop-on-the-floor-laughing level that we come to expect from Dunham's regular characters. I don't think this puppet will make that much of an impact.
3. Dunham ended his usual show and then tried out a new bit that he had just written involving Peanut and Jose Jalepeno. He said that parts of it were written just before he stepped onto the stage this evening, and he still needed to read it off the teleprompter since it hasn't been rehearsed. All I can say is, I can't wait for him to finish off this bit. It was very funny, especially the ad-libed bits!
4. He then brought out a surprising new character, and it was a GOOD one. He brought out Achmed's son, Achmed's Jr, or what Achmed like to call "AJ". Supposedly, this evening is the first time Dunham is introducing this new puppet. The bit between them was a total success and the audience were roaring like crazy. AJ has an English accent, and in the end, we also found out that he's Jewish! That last bit of information just killed Achmed! It was a tremendous act! (Ha, ha!)
A very enjoyable evening. If the Identity Crisis Tour comes to your town, go see it.
Zz.
