‘It's just that stand-up is the thing I love': Paul Reiser on returning to his roots

Boston Globe

18-04-2025

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But Reiser, who will be at The Cabot in Beverly on April 25, finally returned to the road about a decade ago and says he's right where he belongs.
'People say, 'You don't have to do it,'' he says. 'I don't have to, I just love performing.'
Paul Reiser as Dr. Owens in "Stranger Things."
Netflix
Q.
What keeps you going out there? Are you constantly writing material and need an audience?
A.
I wish it were that, where I've got to tell somebody, and my wife has already heard this crap. But it's just that stand-up is the thing I love.
I don't love airports, I don't love connecting flights. I tell my agent it's got to be a direct flight and not too late because I like to be in pajamas at 9:45 if possible.
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I've been on
Just before I was speaking to you, I was working on a bit that's a couple of months old. There's one little section that is not working. I love the fine tuning of it and the precision of it. And it is precision. I'll write as meticulously as I can even though when I get on stage I won't do it exactly that way. I don't memorize everything.
From left: Mary Matalin, Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt, and James Carville in a 1998 episode of "Mad About You."
Saeed Adyani
Q.
How has your stand-up evolved since the early days?
A.
I have a hard time watching old stuff, but when I do see a glimpse of it, there are themes of things I'm still questioning, that are universal. But certainly as you get older, you have more to talk about. You've seen more life.
What's also great is when the audience now comes to see me, it's not 1978, 'And here's comedian number 11.' If people are coming and they bought a ticket and they came to see me, because they know me from something. Probably 'Mad About You.' It really does feel like getting together with old friends. The audience thinks 'I know this guy. We grew up together and we got married around the same time. We had kids around the same time.' And the same warmth that I think they bring, I feel towards them. The idea that they bought a ticket, drove here, and are staying up late, that's not nothing. Because I know to get me out of my house and go see a show, it takes some convincing.
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And maybe younger people come, too, and they're confused — 'Wait, why is the doctor from 'Stranger Things' trying to be funny?'
Q.
Has your approach to writing changed?
A.
I write more, but I throw out more. Sometimes I'll think of something funny but say that's too easy, or that's not me or that's not what I want to say.
I try to not watch other comics but something will pop up on YouTube or on Instagram and if I see somebody doing a similar bit, I say, 'I guess I'll throw mine out.' If you see other people doing it then it's pretty low-hanging fruit so I'll look for something different.
It's part of why I did my first special since the early '90s last year. I felt I needed to put my flag in the ground, let someone else see it and say, 'Well, he already did that joke.'
Q.
When you say 'that's not me,' are you close to your onstage persona?
A.
It's mostly the same. When I went back out a couple of years ago, someone asked if my stand-up was like my 'Mad About You' character. The show grew out of my stand-up — I even called my character Paul because I didn't want to have to act too hard. Nobody's going to come to my show and say, 'Whoa, that's not what I was expecting at all.'
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For better or for worse, this is what I do. I don't sit here and come up with ideas for world peace or political insight.
I was opening for John Denver around 1980. I was talking about relationship stuff, like how taking a shower together sounds sexy, but one of you is always cold and then John Denver would come out and he would do spiritual or uplifting songs. We were out for a drink one night, and I said, 'I feel a little silly. I'm talking about sharing food, you're talking about this other stuff' and he said, 'People have to start on the ground before they can get to the sky.'
So I thought, 'So there is validity and value to what I'm doing.' That always stayed with me.
What I'm doing is entertaining. And, by the way, it's not mandatory. You don't have to come, but if you do, we're going to have an evening of solid laughs and you're going to go home smiling.
I tell people that I'm the only one who offers a money-back guarantee. If you're not completely enamored and you don't have a great time, I will come back next year — and I'll take you to see somebody funnier.
So you can't lose is what I'm saying.
Interview was edited for length and clarity.