Norann trying to put ‘em under at the Suede Ultra Lounge

Monday, Aug. 6, 2007 | 7:10 a.m.

Who: Norann, the Worlds Fastest Female Hypnotist

When: 10:30 p.m. Saturdays

Where:Suede Ultra Lounge and Restaurant, 4640 S. Paradise Road

Admission: Free, but two-drink minimum; 791-3463

Sometimes comedy is funny for all the wrong reasons.

Take the hypnotist show at the Suede Ultra Lounge and Restaurant.

The star of the production, meant for mature audiences, is the single-named Norann, a talented performer who bills herself as "The World's Fastest Female Hypnotist."

No matter how cute, clever, funny and talented she might be, she seems to be having trouble convincing non-gays to venture into the pink neon world of the area known as the Gay Triangle. Suede is one of several mostly gay venues and a couple of mostly straight ones, such as the Double Down Saloon, huddled together in the short block on Paradise Road.

Norann's show is for all persuasions. Last Saturday there were about 20 customers in Suede - some waiting for Norann's show to start, some simply enjoying the atmosphere. There were lots of couples, most of them male.

If you're a hypnotist , you want a deep well of potential subjects. The 10 chairs onstage never looked emptier as Norann cajoled, pleaded and used every persuasive trick she could think of to get volunteers to step into the spotlight.

A few customers left. A few new ones entered. One couple saw the "two-drink minimum" card on the tables, looked around the room and beat a hasty retreat.

Finally four people were convinced they were safe and wouldn't be humiliated in front of the audience, which barely outnumbered the volunteers.

While Norann was trying to get at least one more subject, one of the four already onstage suddenly jumped from the stage and headed for the rest room. Nature couldn't be denied.

While he was gone a fifth person was conscripted and an abbreviated version of the show got under way.

It takes awhile for the act to be set up - a hypnotist has to hypnotize the subjects, which takes 15 or 20 minutes.

Finally Norann seemed to have the five in her power. At least their eyes were closed, their heads drooped, their bodies sagged and when she told them to raise their arms , they raised their arms.

Then one of the subjects sat up straight, grabbed his mouth and bolted from the stage, driven off by a wave of nausea. He didn't return.

Then there were four.

Actually three. One of the hypnotized subjects slept through the entire show. He didn't move, didn't respond to the commands. When everyone else was shivering because they were told it was 20 degrees below zero, he didn't do anything. Everyone else was loosening his clothes because now it was 120 degrees; again he did nothing.

So most of the show involved three people following the commands of Norann.

Actually two.

One of the three was more responsive than the sleeper, but not much.

This was one show in which the audience should have been hypnotized.