Complications ensue

Contrary to Alvy Singer's assertion that L.A.'s "only cultural advantage is being able to make a right turn on a red light," there are plenty of shows and events to remind her residents that they aren't living in Peoria. For the time being, it remains the entertainment capital of the world and the destination of choice for many of the world's most talented people. Thus, where I previously found myself enjoying Mary Lynn Rajskub's portrayal of uber-geek Chloe O'Brien in 60-minute weekly chunks on a television in Baltimore, now I am able to catch her various performances live in and around Hollywood. Not as Chloe, but doing her stand-up routine at Upright Citizens Brigade's Tuesday night Comedy Death Ray. Or, as last week, her new one-woman show "Complications of Buying a Poodle Pillow" at the Comedy Central Stage down on Santa Monica Boulevard.

Ostensibly about Mary Lynn's search for something tangible to replace her poodle after an unfortunate encounter with a coyote -- namely, a a pillow with an embroidered representation of a poodle on it -- the hour-long show covers a range of topics in her improvisational style of humor. A large part dedicated to debunking the rumors that started last year when Rush Limbaugh planted one on her lips during a seminar on 24 at the Heritage Foundation. They aren't and never were an item. But she also trains her eye on the media and people who reflexively took her to task for the possibility that she would even entertain the notion of dating the conservative mouthpiece. Fair, balanced, and very funny.

Other subjects include: meeting Justice Clarence Thomas during the trip to D.C. for the seminar; how to handle things when your entertainment lawyer (and ex-boyfriend) text messages you that he has some coke and wants to hang out; and a hilarious deconstruction of the Morongo Casino billboards that are seen on the roads here. Fliers handed out when the show was over said that Mary Lynn will be reprising it at the Stage on January 24, 2007 (for free even).