Bizarro Piraro
By JASON COLLINGTON, 5/21/2006
Piraro can do the cock-and-bull with the best of 'em: "Who among us," he says, "hasn't dealt with an irate idiot at some point in our lives?" Courtesy photo
Cartoonist brings his stand-up routine back to his hometown
Tulsa audiences won't get the exact same "Bizarro Baloney Show" as those across the country for a simple reason.
When cartoonist Dan Piraro comes to Tulsa, he's coming home. That means his parents and family are in the crowd.
"In most cities, the overwhelming majority of people in the audiences are big fans of mine," said Piraro, a proud member of Booker T. Washington High School's class of 1976, during a phone interview.
"They come to be fans of Bizarro because they are like-minded. In Tulsa, there are quite a few of the people who come because they are friends of my parents from church."
Understanding that, Piraro omits a few f-words here and there and doesn't include a segment or two in the show, which is a one-man variety act that the New York Times recently called a "shrewd tour of an artist's imagination."
"My mom doesn't like the f-word," he said. "She's even told me that from the audience before. Right there in front of everybody. She will throw that in from time to time when she thinks I've gone too far. But that's all part of the fun."
Piraro first experimented with the show in Tulsa back in 2001 before he performed it at the International Fringe Festival. He ended up winning the Best Solo Show award.
Dan Piraro, a native Tulsan and author of the comic strip Bizarro, draws a comic as fourth-graders, teachers and parents look on Jan. 15, 2005, at Cooper Elementary School in Tulsa. The students wrote to Piraro as part of a language arts assignment, and he responded with the visit. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
This time, the show's tour coincides with the release of his 14th book, "Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro." The book is a retrospective of his cartoons, fine and commercial art, and includes a 10,000-word essay about his life and thoughts.
All proceeds from the shows, after travel expenses, will benefit Piraro's favorite animal welfare organizations.
Tulsans who have seen the show should expect new songs, routines and what have become his classic segments -- including what Piraro said has become the most popular -- reading his hate mail.
"I always wonder how the hate mail segment will play in Tulsa," he said. "Because most of the hate mail is from right-wingers, and there tends to be a lot of them in Tulsa from what I hear."
A lot happens in the one-frame format of Bizarro, which is syndicated in more than 200 newspapers including the Tulsa World. Piraro goes for laughs, but he does that while making a statement about topics ranging from Fox News to animal rights.
"Irregardless of where you stand politically on those issues, you can still enjoy the hate mail," he said. "When I get angry letters on any topic, a number of them are intelligent and civil. But a handful are irate and illiterate. Those are the ones I bring to the show. It's just funny. Who among us hasn't dealt with an irate idiot at some point in our lives?"
He doesn't see a problem including some of his controversial opinions in Bizarro.
"I don't expect to change the world with my cartoons," he said. "But I feel, knowing what I know, how can I not say a little something about it from time to time?"
Five years ago, Piraro said he was a blissful meat-eater. Now, he's a vegan trying to teach others what's he's learned -- that today's animals aren't living at grandpa's friendly farm anymore.
His advocacy lead him to accept an invitation to host a TV show on organic food. Details are still being worked out, but Piraro likes the idea of adding another career to his workload.
"I tend to suffer from boredom very easily," he said. "Even when routines are working in the show, I tend to throw them out because I don't like to do the same thing over and over.
"It keeps my brain interested so it doesn't explode."
"THE BIZARRO BALONEY SHOW"
Starring
Dan Piraro
When
8 p.m. Monday
Where
Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St.
Tickets
$10. Reservations accepted at 583-8487 [As of February 2007, 633-8666]. No credit cards accepted.