Here's a dilemma: Should you stay home Sunday night and tune into Comedy Central to catch comic ventriloquist Jeff Dunham's new special, "Spark of Insanity," or catch it live at the Fox Theatre?
Hmmm. Let's think on that a minute.
OK, time's up. That was a trick question. If you've seen Peanut, Walter, José Jalapeño On-a-Stick and other members of the cast of Dunham's wacky characters during his Tucson visits over the past several years, you know Dunham is best enjoyed from a few feet away.
In the Comedy Central special Sunday, Dunham introduces us to two new characters: Melvin the Superhero and Achmed the Dead Terrorist. But in Tucson, we only get to meet Achmed; Melvin's taking a break so Dunham can reintroduce Bubba J, the beloved, beer-bellied, NASCAR-loving hillbilly.
"Everyone just loves him," Dunham, 45, explained during a phone conversation from his Los Angeles home, a chat in which he talked about what inspired him to give life to a Middle Eastern terrorist.
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More importantly, what does Walter think?
"Walter comes out first, so Achmed is actually frightened of Walter."
What inspired you to create this character?
"After 9/11, I wanted to do something. . . . I thought that what we feared is sometimes what we laugh at. At that time, a year after 9/11, we all hated Osama bin Laden, so I made this skeleton character and I called it the Dead Osama. . . . I tried it out first in New York, and it went over great. So I used him in the act a couple years. But when the second DVD was coming around, I thought let's make it more general, not make it that guy. Let's make it something that's almost identifiable with people. He's not sure of himself. He's lame with his job. And he's scared of stuff. But he hides behind this mask of being this terrible terrorist."
Did anybody tell you you were insane?
"It was quite a step into an area that usually you wouldn't think a comedian would delve into, much less pull the character up on stage. . . . He's actually becoming one of the big hits of the show right now because it's just so ridiculous. We take all the fangs out of it, and he ends up being this goofy terrorist who really doesn't want to kill anybody."
So Achmed's a wuss?
"Absolutely. He doesn't really want to hurt anybody."
What does Peanut think?
"There are a couple of jokes where Peanut comments about living in a suitcase with a terrorist and that doesn't exactly sit well with him. José the Jalapeño is almost on Achmed's side because José has no way to defend himself for fighting. There are a couple of jokes where José is going to hire Achmed to keep Peanut away."
What's behind the title of your new show?
"Here's a grown man on stage basically talking to himself and has pretty much the whole room believing that these little guys are alive. You gotta think that someone who does this too well and for too long, there's gotta be something hooked up that's different from most people."
Jeff Dunham's "Spark of Insanity"
• When: 7 p.m. Sunday.
• Where: Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress St.
• Cost: $38.50 through the theater, 547-3040.
• Online: See a sneak peak of "Spark of Insanity" at www.onastick.com.
• TV: Comedy Central's premiere of the special will air at 9 p.m. Sunday.
See review in Tuesday's Accent.
