Gary Gulman wore a Rod Carew jersey on stage Saturday, kicking off his 95-minute act by rattling the Hall of Famer's statistics from his stellar 1977 season with the Twins.
The wardrobe choice may have just been a way of pandering to the Minnesota fans at Fitzgerald Theater, but it also served as a nice set-up for his opening routine on growing up in the late '70s, staying up late to catch "Three's Company," sneaking into a theater to watch "Jaws," dealing with the horrors of being held back in the first grade and discovering Jesus was Jewish.
Gulman, 53, is best known for his 2019 TV special, "The Great Depresh," in which he shares his experiences of being hospitalized for depression and suicidal urges. But this was a mainly upbeat show with the stand-up getting practically giddy over pop culture through the ages.
If references to Maxwell House Haggadah and Marilu Henner went over most of the crowd's heads, that was just fine.
"Some of these jokes might just be for nine people," said Gulman, who just put out the memoir, "Misfit: Growing Up Awkward in the '80s," which he signed copies of after the show.
Gulman did tease audience members who weren't familiar with classic novels, suggesting that no one should be allowed to read "Angels & Demons" unless they first pass a test about "The Grapes of Wrath."
"I'm just pandering to librarians," he said. "They buy a lot of books."
