The Performing Arts Center is no stranger to comedy, and two stand-up acts appealing to two very different senses of humor will perform across the hall from one another Friday.On one hand you have Lisa Lampanelli, best known for hurling insults. The other is Paula Poundstone, a comic more likely to be found cracking wise on public radio.
The queen of mean
As an insult comic, Lisa Lampanelli doesn't pull punches. Pretty much anything and anyone is fair game, and her rise to prominence came in part due to multiple appearances on Comedy Central's celebrity roasts. While skewering celebrities and others during the roasts or her stand-up, Lampanelli throws out crass verbal shots. She said the key to her success with insults is to avoid being mean-spirited.
"What I think doesn't go off is when comics really mean what they say as far as different races or nationalities or people themselves," Lampanelli said. "I think it's basically (about) loving your subjects and really kind of getting a kick out of them. Like a Donald Trump or Flavor Flav -- I get a kick out of those guys."
"I don't think I'd ever roast anyone I hated, because then it comes off nasty," she said.
Last year, Lampanelli tossed insults at Trump on Comedy Central. This year, she's taking part of his reality show competition.
Like all contestants on "The Celebrity Apprentice," Lampanelli is raising money for charity. Her charity of choice? The Gay Men's Health Crisis -- the same organization that benefited last year from a feud between Lampanelli and the controversial Westboro Baptist Church.
Protesters from the church vowed to picket a Lampanelli show in Topeka, Kan., due to her support of the gay community. When the comic got wind of the situation, she promised to donate $1,000 for each protester who showed up. By the time the dust settled, Lampanelli filled out a check for $50,000.
Since then, she hasn't had any more run-ins with Westboro.
"I blocked them all on Twitter because they're just so full of hate and it's just hard to listen to," she said.
Lampanelli is branching out in the future, appearing later this year in "Sopranos," creator David Chase's debut feature film. She also has a one-woman show in the works for Broadway that will feature a more personal look into her life. The current goal is to have the show out by this fall or next spring.
Lampanelli claimed that working on these projects has re-sharpened her comedic edge.
"I was really getting bored with stand-up," she said. "That's why I decided to do the one-person show, because I was like 'Oh my God, do I have to do the same type of comedy?' Then your comedy gets a rejuvenated feel because you have the other outlets too. I'm in a much happier place about comedy now."
Radio on
Paula Poundstone has been honing her craft as a stand-up comic for more than three decades. With a flair for involving the audience and a penchant for humorous self-reflection, Poundstone's series of shows in Alaska includes back-to-back performances tonight in Anchorage.
Poundstone might be best known these days as a frequent panelist on National Public Radio's popular news quiz show "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" (which did a broadcast last year in Fairbanks) and as a recurring guest on the public radio's "A Prairie Home Companion."
"It's been great. I got to do both those shows because I'm the luckiest performer in the world," Poundstone said.
In addition to calling "A Prairie Home Companion" host Garrison Keillor a national treasure, Poundstone also talked about keeping up with her fellow panelists on "Wait Wait..." and whether she gets intimidated by others on the show.
"I feel they cheat by being much smarter than me," she deadpanned. "I think that most of them are writers, and really, there's a lot of heavy duty college educations in there. Just really smart people -- I feel that they were born into the world knowing more about current events than I."
Fans of her work on radio are in for a more personal and interactive experience in Poundstone's stand-up act. Offering what she calls a somewhat autobiographical performance, Poundstone pulls plenty of material from her life, able to go off on tangents about cars or raising three adopted children.
"I had a '65 Mustang named Dave -- this is a long, long time ago -- and at the time I could do an hour (of material) on that car. And if I wasn't careful, I would," she said.
Engaging with audience members is another part of her act, so each show promises to be different.
"Nothing is scripted or planted," she said. "Generally, by the time I get someone (deep) into conversation, what they have to say to me and our exchange is sort of unique enough that it's not going to repeat itself."
Lisa Lampanelli
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Atwood Concert Hall
Tickets: $39, centertix.net Online: insultcomic.com
Paula Poundstone
When: 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Sydney Laurence Theatre
Tickets: $36.50, centertix.net
Online: paulapoundstone.com
By Toben Shelby
Daily News correspondent