Comic Maz Jobrani is an Iranian American, a group which — at least according to popular media — isn’t exactly known for their wacky sense of humor. So when George Bush named Iran as part of a nefarious network of bad guys, Jobrani and a group of other Middle Eastern comics decided to fight back with jokes, not bombs, in the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. “That’s why to this day you’ll find many Iranians insist on being called Persian,” he observes. “It sounds nicer and friendlier, and some Americans don’t even know what it means. ‘No, no, I’m Persian, like the cat…meow! Let’s hug!’” Hear a solo Jobrani riff on the difficulties of dating his Christian girlfriend, the hard-to-pronounce name of his country’s leader and why killing people with anthrax mailed in an envelope is just not the Middle Eastern way. “That’s not right,” he offers. “We would say, ‘Can I wrap the anthrax around myself and run into somebody?’” Oh yeah, that’s way funnier. 8 p.m. Thursday, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Improv, 7620 Katy Freeway. For information, call 713-333-8800 or visit www.improvhouston.com. $18 to $20.


March 26-29, 2009

This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2009.

Bob Ruggiero has been writing about music, books, visual arts and entertainment for the Houston Press since 1997, with an emphasis on Classic Rock. He used to have an incredible and luxurious mullet in...