Howie Mandel – The Real Deal

Thursday night, venerable comedian and OCD-stricken performer Howie Mandel appeared at the California State Fair on the Main Stage.

After a less-than-tasteful and off-color opening act, Mandel took the stage with a rapid-fire delivery and a huge smile. Almost immediately, it was obvious that he has not lost his comedic edge even after appearing as a dramatic actor (“St. Elsewhere”), voiceover actor (“Bobby’s World,” “Muppet Babies” and “Gremlins”) and talk show host and judge (“Deal or No Deal,” “America’s Got Talent”).

The fair provided a delightful interpreter for the deaf, Sharon Ramsey, who was addressed multiple times by Mandel as he used words and expressions just to see how they were signed. Female body parts, flatulence and butts were all topics requiring careful signing by Ramsey, who good-naturedly added to the fun rather than distracted.

Using his frenetic pacing and ADHD-like changes in subjects, Mandel was able to keep the audience wondering just where he was going to go next. Topics included the stage set up over the lagoon, his practical jokes that got him banned from his doctor’s office and conversing with the audience about hedgehogs, parrots and the strangest objects fished from a patient’s orifice in the ER.

“So, what do you want to do now?” was the segue phrase used by Mandel in making his transitions throughout his 40-minute performance.

At the end, a “hidden video” that Mandel had filmed in a Los Angeles beauty salon where he posed as a hair washer was shown on the big screens. When he returned to the stage, Mandel admitted that he didn’t have a big finish to his set so he just said goodbye and walked off the stage. It was an inauspicious ending to an otherwise delightful show.

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