Call it returning to the scene of the crime, or, more accurately, the birth of a friendship.
On Sunday, Aug. 26, comedians/actors Steve Martin and Martin Short will bring 鈥淎n Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life鈥 to the 蜜柚直播 Arena, about 12 miles from Old 蜜柚直播 Studios where the two comics became friends 30-plus years ago.
The pair 鈥 Martin of 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥 and Hollywood fame, and Short, who got his start on Canada鈥檚 sketch comedy show 鈥淪econd City Television鈥 before jumping into Hollywood 鈥 met in spring 1985 when both were cast in the comedy 鈥淭hree Amigos.鈥 Most of the movie was filmed at Old 蜜柚直播 Studios.
鈥淚 was the third amigo hired,鈥 Short said during a phone interview last week with both actors.
鈥淲e call that the last amigo hired,鈥 Martin shot back.
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鈥淟ast amigo, chief amigo. Terms are terms,鈥 Short countered. 鈥淏ut anyway, I met Steve on that film. I think I met him in the late spring of 鈥85 and we got to be great, great friends shooting that movie.鈥
鈥淚 became closer friends with my horse,鈥 Martin said. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 really see the horse very much anymore. So this is my second-closest friendship that emerged from that movie.鈥
鈥淎h, thank you,鈥 Short said. Can you feel the love?
The pair went on to talk about the show, which was released as a Netflix special earlier this year, their friendship and Martin鈥檚 early obsession with turquoise jewelry.
鈥淚 toured around there quite a bit, Albuquerque and 蜜柚直播. In the 鈥70s, I used to collect turquoise jewelry,鈥 Martin recalled. 鈥淚 had fun going around to little shops. ... There are very embarrassing photos around of me laden with turquoise jewelry.鈥
Their show here is the first time either man has performed in 蜜柚直播 in years. Short brought his one-man show to Centennial Hall in 2008; Martin, a pretty phenomenal banjo player, brought the Steep Canyon Rangers to the Fox 蜜柚直播 Theatre in 2011.
About the show
Martin: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 really know how to describe it. A bad description is a big comedy, variety show. But that doesn鈥檛 seem to suit it because it makes it sound old-fashioned, which it is. We don鈥檛 want it to sound old-fashioned.鈥
Short: 鈥(Comedian) Catherine O鈥橦ara called it a 鈥榗hildren鈥檚 show for adults.鈥 I like that better. Reality is that it just is a representation of what Steve and I love to do and how we love to perform for people. It started off with a long conversation we did with each other closing a comedy festival in Chicago in 2001. From there it evolved into this show 鈥 fast-moving, joke, joke, joke, joke, joke.鈥
The funnest part
of the night
Martin: 鈥淚 would say when we know we have a kind of semi-new routine or joke or bit to do and just kind of look forward all night to that moment when you get to do it, especially if you know it鈥檚 working.鈥
Short: 鈥淲e鈥檙e developing lots of new material to add to our show to vary it from the Netflix show. This is a very creative time developing material. So it is exciting, I totally agree, when something you were hoping would work works.鈥
Merging two stage shows into one
Short: 鈥淚 had a show before me and Steve did this, so I kind of merged part of my show with his show.鈥
Martin: 鈥淚 had a full show with the band, but what we鈥檙e doing is not a music show. We鈥檙e doing some music. So I had to really search around to figure out, OK, I was doing comedy in the old music show. We picked and chose, but eventually after we combined, we developed a really solid, even show.鈥
It鈥檚 a comedy
without egos
Short: 鈥淚 think that similar types attract each other. I don鈥檛 think we have those kind of egos. We have slightly obsessive egos when it comes to trying to get something perfect, and work-ethic egos. But I don鈥檛 think that Steve and I do that.鈥
Martin: 鈥淚 actually haven鈥檛 found gigantic egos in comedy. Comedy is humiliating. You鈥檙e always on edge. You鈥檙e only as good as your last show.鈥
Short: 鈥淣eurosurgeons probably have much bigger egos.鈥
Martin: 鈥淚 shouldn鈥檛 say comedy is humiliating. I should say comedy is humbling.鈥
Three decades
and counting
Short: 鈥淗ow does anyone sustain a friendship? I don鈥檛 know.鈥
Martin: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 get mad at each other. By the way, we鈥檙e not talking every morning on the phone. Right now we see each other when we鈥檙e working and on special occasions. It鈥檚 not like the pressure. I even have a child I have to actually pay some attention to.鈥
Short: 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 constantly celebrating the child within me.鈥
Feeding off
the audience
Martin: 鈥淭he audience does make a subtle difference in our show. If the audience is good 鈥 and by the way, no audience is bad; they just are what they are 鈥 and the audience is really with us, it does free us up and make us better, I think.鈥
Keeping the comedy (mostly) clean
Martin: 鈥淲e have an interest in current comedy and the people we鈥檝e seen like John Mulaney and Hannah Gadsby. I guess my only resistance is when saying the curse word real loud at the end of the joke is the joke. The joke has to work first and then you have to add in the curse words.鈥
Short: 鈥淚 also think that in general, from the head of the state on, the level of crassness has increased tremendously in the past decade, and I don鈥檛 think it has to.鈥