Daily Dose of Oliver

Comments (0) By John Linn Thursday, May 21 2009

Over the years The Daily Show has had a startling number of “news” correspondents who have gone on to do even greater things: Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Mo Rocca, Ed Helms, Rob Corddry, Lewis Black, John Hodgman, and Demetri Martin all come to mind. Even more amazing is that the program, now entering its 13th year on the air, has managed to continually fill the gaps left by these entertainers with even better personalities. Liverpool’s John Oliver is one such comedian. Since joining the cast in 2006, Oliver has quickly become one of the funniest correspondents in Daily Show history.

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Perhaps it was Oliver’s Cambridge University lineage that set him on the path to comic stardom — after all, he hails from the same Cambridge comedy troupe, the Footlights, that birthed such British funnymen as Clive Anderson, John Cleese, and Stephen Fry. If Oliver shares anything with those names (besides his answer to that question, “I definitely have the same number of legs as all those people.”), it’s his ability to draw upon a history of dry, cheeky British humor and reconcile that with modern audiences. His standup — the sort he’ll be conducting for one night only at the Palm Beach Improv — picks up where his Daily Show bits leave off: He wades in a political soup flavored with bits of the obscure, the irreverent, and the flat-out obscene.

Catch Oliver in action on Friday night at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. at 550 S. Rosemary Ave., Ste. 250, in West Palm Beach. Tickets cost $26, and there’s a two-drink minimum. Call 561-833-1812, or visit palmbeachimprov.com.
Fri., May 22, 8:30 & 10:30 p.m., 2009