Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Extended play, no holds barred

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS MORRIS

Who: Roseanne Barr: All You Can Eat Comedy Tour

When: 8 p.m., Thursdays through Tuesdays. Dark Wednesdays

Where: Cabaret Theatre, New York-New York

Tickets: $54.95; 740-6969

Roseanne Barr's nightly diatribes at New York-New York have been extended for seven weeks.

That's good news for the fans of the comedian , who has made a living for almost 30 years lambasting perceived social and political ills.

She serves up venom in large portions. Neat. On the rocks. Mixed. Shaken but not stirred.

If you don't like the drink, you probably won't care for her show.

There aren't a lot of surprises going in. The world knows Roseanne, who has matured in front of it - marriages, divorces, temper tantrums, bad versions of "The Star - Spangled Banner."

She's ranted for decades and fans love her for it.

When Rosie O'Donnell announced she was quitting the popular morning TV show "The View," Roseanne's fans launched an e-mail campaign urging producers to hire her.

"I would love to do the show," she said during a recent interview. "But that didn't come from the producers or from me. That idea was from fans."

They adore the native of Salt Lake City and stick behind her through thick and thin, including as a recent controversy over her comments about gays being self-involved.

On her daily show on a San Bernardino, Calif., radio station, she was talking about the need for people to unite for a common cause and criticized gay activists for being concerned only about gay rights.

"They don't care about minimum wage, they don't care about any other group other than their own self because you know, some people say being gay and lesbian is a totally narcissistic thing and sometimes I wonder. I've never heard any of them say anything except for 'accept me 'cause I'm gay.' "

She apologized.

"It came out wrong," she said. "Nothing was meant by it, only that we need to join forces."

Roseanne, who has a sister who lives in Las Vegas, has been here for the past three months or so. She would like to make it longer and is thrilled that her show has been extended.

You can't separate the Roseanne onstage from the Roseanne offstage. She's always opinionated.

A sample of her routine:

On Saddam:

"Hanging was too good for that Saddam Hussein. They should have made him marry Tom Arnold," the actor and her former husband.

On being fat (she's now just pleasingly plump):

"There's nothing a fat person will not say or do to lose weight, except stop eating like a hog or exercise."

On invading Iraq:

"Like when we invade other countries to bring them freedom. The freedom to build Wal-Marts, where they can get Chinese goods at discount prices."

On getting old:

"I'm wet where I'm supposed to be dry and dry where I'm supposed to be wet ... I'm a multitasker, though. Now I pee when I sneeze."

She is equally sardonic in person.

Roseanne home-schools her 11-year-old son and ha s denounced the education system:

"They're carrying weapons there for God's sake. We need to do something about that ... I had my son in public school. I never liked private schools. I sent my other kids to private schools and that was a mess. They've got the best dope in private schools. So I sent them to public because at least there are parents that care."

She also is vehemently against the war.

"We need to stop it. The majority of the American people don't like the war and want it to end. They want to make peace, not war. They want a better world for everyone in it."

And, of course, she has a thing or two to say about politics.

"The elections ... how unfair they are. All these millions of dollars that corporations are paying politicians and there's nobody speaking for the American people. Of course, I'm trying to, because where's the jobs and stuff? Where's the health care? Our country's just being sold away from us. They're trying to take America to the Middle East. They're trying to move all of America's money to the Middle East."

But there is a lighter side to Roseanne. She likes to hang out at Fashion Show mall.

"I live for that place. I go there almost every day and just walk around because it's cool and you can get your exercise there. And they have the most bizarre things going on in that mall that I've ever seen. There was like this bizarre fashion show the other day. These really skinny girls in their underwear walking up and down like a fashion show runway. It was kind of neat. It was like a little bit of art in the middle of the mall. It makes me mad that they are so skinny."

When she isn't in the mall or onstage or home schooling, she goes to shows. She's seen most of the Cirque du Soleil productions.

"I've seen 'Mystere' about 15 times. I saw all the other ones , too. All except the naked one. I didn't see 'Zumanity.' "

A lot of comedians in town are among her friends, including Louie Anderson, who is at the Excalibur, across the street from New York-New York.

"We met in 1981 in Denver. We went on tour together, several times. We've toured and played Vegas together for years. It's cool to be across the street from him."

She says she's going to catch him with the rest of her comedians - Bobby Slayton at Hooters, Carrot Top at the Luxor, George Wallace at the Flamingo and the Amazing Johnathan at the Sahara.

"It's sort of like we're the Rat Pack now."

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