David Sedaris brings his ‘Carnival of Snackery’ to the Weinberg Center
The dry-witted humorist is part of the Weinberg Center's fall slate, including Gordon Lightfoot and Lewis Black
You can tell it’s not his favorite part of the job, yet being on stage in front of a large audience does play a critical role for David Sedaris in developing his brand of keenly observed, dry-witted humor. While the rather introverted humorist has continued writing essays during the pandemic for outlets including The New Yorker and CBS Sunday Morning, he’s understandably anxious to see how all that newer material fares.
“When I do get back on stage, my fear is that I’m going to read them out loud and I’ll realize, ‘Oh, I was completely wrong about this and this and this,'” he told MSNBC’s Ari Melber earlier this month. During a rare 15-minute TV interview, Sedaris explained how he gauges what works based on audience reaction. “If it’s funny, they’re gonna laugh. And let you know it’s funny. If they cough a lot, it’s like they’re throwing skulls at you.”
Sedaris has a full slate of lectures lined up over the course of the next year starting in September, and one of his first performances will be at Maryland’s Weinberg Center for the Arts. He’ll stop at the historic “Jewel of Frederick” venue on Saturday, Oct. 2, or the weekend before his newest collection, A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020), is published. Tickets are currently still available for seats in the back of the orchestra, mezzanine, and balcony sections. But don’t delay if you’d like to go: The show, which starts at 8 p.m., is likely to sell out in advance.
That’s already true of another show scheduled as one of the first to welcome back guests to the 95-year-old, 1,200-seat venue in downtown Frederick. “Gordon Lightfoot: The Legend in Concert,” set for next Saturday, Aug. 7, at 7 p.m., is a relatively rare live show featuring the veteran folk singer-songwriter that is now officially sold out.
Tickets remain for other notable shows coming to the Weinberg Center, which will announce its full 2021-2022 season on Thursday, Aug. 5. Offerings include two concerts already tagged with a “limited availability” warning, one featuring the Midwest-based male a cappella octet Straight No Chaser (9/14) and another with the septuagenarian comedian Lewis Black, a Silver Spring native aptly described as “a more pissed-off optimist than a mean-spirited curmudgeon” (10/1).
A few more to consider include an inspiring talk with best-selling writer and sustainable food advocate Michael Pollan (10/14); the Off Broadway hit comedy Men Are From Mars-Women Are From Venus LIVE! (10/16); and “Neil Berg’s 50 Years of Rock N’ Roll 2,” a musical revue of rock music’s first half-century (10/22).
The Weinberg Center for the Arts is at 20 W. Patrick St. in Frederick, Md. Call 301-600-2828 or visit www.weinbergcenter.org.
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