Arts, Dining & Entertainment

Comedienne Paula Poundstone returns to Chandler

Friday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. — RANDOLPH — Paula Poundstone, the “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me” panelist par excellence, returns to Chandler Music Hall in Randolph this season for another evening of spontaneous, intelligent humor on Friday evening, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Appearing on stage armed only with a stool, a microphone, and a can of Diet Pepsi, Paula Poundstone is famous for her razor-sharp wit and spontaneity. Paula’s off-kilter sensibility and impeccable timing made her a perfect fit for NPR’s “oddly informative, rascal of a weekly news quiz show,”  Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me. In addition to her Wait, Wait gig, Paula has appeared on HBO, “Saturday Night Live,” “The Tonight Show,” and is a regular on the comedy circuit, performing stand-up comedy across the country.

Her quick wit and quirky take on life leave audiences complaining that their cheeks hurt from laughter and wondering whether the random people she talked to out there were “plants” – which, of course, they never are. Poundstone is already looking forward to her return visit to Randolph. She was found twittering this week, “I’ll be out of my head on syrup at The Chandler Music Hall in Randolph.”

Over the span of her career, Paula has amassed a list of awards and accolades.  She not only shot through the glass ceiling, she never even acknowledged that it was there.  Never one to stereotype herself as a ‘female comedian’ or limit herself to comedy from a ‘female’ point of view, in the early 90’s she was the first woman to win the cable ACE for Best Standup Comedy Special and the first woman to perform standup at the prestigious White House Correspondents dinner where she joined the current President as part of the evening’s entertainment.  In November, 2012 in Washington DC, she was honored, along with Nina Totenberg, NPR correspondent; David Brooks, New York Times columnist; and Bob Mankoff, New Yorker Cartoon Editor; with the 2012 Moment Magazine Creativity Award at their 35th anniversary symposium, followed by a one-hour panel on the intersection of humor and politics. Just weeks later Paula was hand-picked to interview Calvin Trillin for the Los Angeles-series-darling, Writers Bloc, a series that presents conversations between the featured author and another interesting thinker.

Tickets for this performance are reserved: $36 advance, $40 day of show. Call the Chandler Box Office at 802-728-6464 or order online at tickets@chandler-arts.org.

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