Las Vegas Weekly

[The Strip]

George Wallace

George Wallace

George Wallace has often been complimented for his marketing savvy (“Best 10 p.m. show”), his skill as a promoter (he got Sly Stone onstage, top that!) and his friends who jump up to guest with him, like Jerry Seinfeld. But lost sometimes is the amount of talent Wallace has as a comedian.

In addition to offering up signature “your mama” jokes and a seemingly total grasp of world geography (no matter where you’re from, Wallace has been there and has something to say about the place), he fills much of each show with ripped-from-the-headlines material. See him now, and he is talking about David Letterman; before the election, he spoke of what he would do as president.

The Details

George Wallace

Tuesday-Saturday, 10 p.m., $40-$75

Flamingo, 733-3111

Wallace has settled into his show long enough to let his natural inclinations leak into the performance, which keeps things fresh and strange. If you sing gospel, George Wallace will bring you onstage to do so. How does gospel fit into a stand-up comedy show in Vegas? It doesn’t. What keeps a performer amused can either make him indulgent or keep him engaged. Wallace clearly falls into the latter category, and the oddity of seeing gospel in the midst of a comedy show is hard not to enjoy for its sheer weirdness and occasional beauty. (A good singer might even get invited back to another show.)

If you are lucky and sitting near the front, you might leave with one of the gift certificates Wallace routinely hands out, for stores and restaurants, with face values above the cost of his show tickets. Wallace makes comedy not just funny but fun, and that is why he works so well in Vegas.