Fans of NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me will be getting an early holiday gift this year as Paula Poundstone comes to the Saenger Theater in Downtown Pensacola for a night of stand-up.
Paula Poundstone has been touring the U.S. since the early 80s and continues to find new places to come and, as she says, "tell her little jokes". She spoke with WUWF's Bob Barrett. Here are some of the highlights of their talk (but seriously, you really should listen...it's pretty funny stuff!)
- Has she ever played Pensacola before? "You know, it's tough to say. I've been doing this job for 37 years and I've been a lot of places." She says Pensacola sounds new to her (not as if it's "just been discovered new"). But her memory isn't what she hoped it would be by now.
- How much does she work? "I do about 90 dates a year and I do that for a variety of reasons, the first of which is I have the greatest job in the entire world. I consider myself a proud member of the endorphin production industry. It's just plain good to be among a group of people out to laugh for the night."
- How did she come to Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me and is she a fan of public radio? "I was a fan of public radio long before I darkened the doors of Wait Wait. Don't Tell Me. Although quite honestly, and I'm sure they hate it what I say this, I had never even heard of Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me when I first did it. I used to listen to Morning Edition. I listened to the news because, it sounds cliche, but it is a trusted source. Especially nowadays in the world of really untrustworthy sources. A huge world of untrustworthy sources!"
- And what about her love of studies? "Well they are plentiful! One time Peter said that there'd been a study where they found that cats were the only animal that did not forgive. And A - who needs that information? How is that helping us? And B - how do you prove that you were forgiven by a hair ball?"
- So, what is her current cat situation? "I have 14 cats! And oh my gosh are they annoying." And how did she end up with 14 cats? "I had 16, and two died."
Paula Poundstone will be appearing at the Saenger Theater for one show on Friday evening, December 2.
