By Charly SHELTON

Comedian Martin Short is a man of many faces. Jiminy Glick, Hollywood celebrity interviewer. Irving Cohen, writer of over 28,000 songs. Ned Nederlander, fastest trick gun in the west. And all of them made appearances at the Alex Theatre last Saturday night to celebrate the grand reopening after massive renovation to the landmark theatre.

“An Evening with Martin Short and the Glendale Pops” did not disappoint. Preceded by a lively performance by the Glendale Pops Orchestra, Short took the stage and launched into a variety of topics. From his family to his career, movies to Broadway stage shows, Kim Kardashian to Delta Burke – nothing was off the table. In what he called “the ‘I Should Have Saved’ Show,” he revisited classic characters and films through song, dance and comedy. In one part of the show, he relayed stories from being on-set of his first feature film, “The Three Amigos,” starring alongside comedy legends Steve Martin and Chevy Chase. And through revisiting the film, he sang one of the great songs from the movie, “The Ballad of the Three Amigos,” written by award-winning songwriter Randy Newman.

But what is a “Three Amigos” song with only one Amigo? So Short brought three audience members up on stage with him to be the Three Amigos. They were incorporated into the act both as foils for jokes and props, and even gave the Three Amigos salute in time with the song.

A night of comedy and music culminated with visits from some of Short’s most loved characters. With incredibly fast costume changes and makeup prosthetics applied, he emerged as Irving Cohen, songwriter of fame from Saturday Night Live. After a few minutes with Cohen, Short disappeared again for another change and more makeup, returning as Jiminy Glick from his show in the early 2000s, “Primetime Glick.” As a celebrity interviewer, he held an interview with Glendale celebrity and actress Emily Hardy, much to the delight of the crowd.

Personally, I have never laughed so hard in my life. I love comedy clubs and think live performances always make people laugh harder. I have seen dozens of acts at comedy clubs around L.A. and none of them ever reached the heights that Short did in this one night only event. His energy at 64 years of age is unrivalled by most people in their 20s. I was exhausted at the end of the show from just watching him run around and dance for nearly 90 continuous minutes.

Audience members were pleased with the event as was evident from animated conversations held at every table during the after party. If ever the opportunity to attend a Martin Short live show arises again, I will be back in a heartbeat, as I’m sure most attendees would agree.

Through Twitter, Hardy said that there will be video coming, so if you did miss out on the show there will be an opportunity to see it at a later date. Check CVWeekly.com for info as it is released, and to see a quick teaser of the show, scan the QR code for a video.

  Charly Shelton