‘Dr. Naughty’ a good time at Greek Isles

Joe Delaney

Friday, Feb. 8, 2002 | 9:33 a.m.

Dr. Naughty, billed as the "X-Rated Comedy Hypnotist," is conducting his seminars nightly at the Greek Isles' Star Theatre. Comedy-hypnotism was most recently the exclusive province in Las Vegas for the original Dr. Naughty, Dean Sterling, now busy training Dr. Naughtys for various venues worldwide.

Ron Paperno is Dr. Naughty II, a three-year veteran with Sterling, a trained clinician, an impressive figure, with fine comedy timing and a very professional demeanor. He was in charge at the show caught. There was a goodly crowd that really got into the swing of things during the 10-minute warm-up conducted by a Dr. Naughty III, Roland, in training.

Paperno took over for a 15-minute, humor-laced preliminary where he explained the stage setting of 12 chairs, for six male and six female volunteers from the audience. The idea is friends of the volunteers become the rooting section for each person onstage.

Volume is high, the approach at times frenetic. Paperno went through the audience inviting females to spank his hind end -- there were no turndowns.

Also in the audience, he tapped several members who were instructed to laugh during the entire performance, which they did. Back onstage, he explained that hypnotism has practical applications to help stop smoking, promote weight loss and alter other behaviors.

Paperno's claim that "I will not embarrass anyone" proved to be not quite true, especially for the seven participants (five of the original 12 were dismissed by Paperno for being poor subjects and returned to the audience) who were put into an altered state of consciousness.

No one was made to cluck like a hen, crow like a rooster or quack like a duck, but the subjects were told that they were drunk and responded accordingly. The audience was in hysterics for this and what followed.

The closer had the seven subjects acting as 5-year-olds at their birthday party, asking for presents but receiving mostly sex toys -- the high spot of the evening. At the conclusion, Paperno and his assistants, which included Sterling's son, C.J. ("Dr. Naughty Jr."), signed autographs and photos and sold cassettes of the show. Business was brisk.

The audience, a mixture of young and not-so-young, had a great time. Watching people make fools of themselves while in an altered state, self-induced or otherwise, is not my idea of entertainment. If it's yours, Dr. Naughty is as good as it gets.