The comedian and actor reveals his love for Liza and pizza

By Angela Barbuti

Mario Cantone will poll the audience demographic at his show at Gotham Comedy Club this weekend—but he already knows what to expect. “Older, younger, black, white, some gay, mostly straight,” said the 53-year-old comic, who celebrated his birthday this past Sunday. Although a Boston native, Cantone has fully embraced life in New York City, appearing regularly on The View, dining at Per Se and bumping into his Sex and the City costars on Broadway.

Our Town: Where did you get your comedic start?
Cantone: In junior high and high school, doing talent shows with Robert Klein and Lily Tomlin’s material. By my senior year of high school, I started writing my own stuff. I went to Emerson College and got into the Emerson Comedy Workshop that Denis Leary started. He brought me into it my freshman year, and it was the most popular thing on campus at the time. It was huge.

How do you think of material for your stand-up?
It just depends on what hits me. I usually can’t talk about something that I’m not really passionate about. Either I love it or I hate it. It’s got to be one or the other. If I just don’t care about it, or it doesn’t affect me in any way, it’s hard to talk or write about it. Most of the impressions I do, I love all of them.

Which are your favorite impressions?
Liza Minnelli and Bette Davis. Those are two fun ones to do.

Do most people recognize you from Sex and the City?
It depends. If it’s young, crazy, screaming girls, it’s Sex and the City. If it’s a young black or Puerto Rican kid in my neighborhood, it’s Chappelle’s show. If it’s middle-aged women, it’s The View, which I like the best because then they really know what I can do. If you just see me on Sex and the City, you have no idea what I do, although I loved doing that show. I loved that character. It was a thrill and it made me internationally famous.

What was it like to work on that show?
It was a great thing; I had a great time. I came in on the third season and I got to be a part of it through the last movie. I was lucky. If you’re doing a half-hour show or two-hour movie, and you have four leading ladies, you have to give every one of them a storyline. When you’ve got these guys coming into the picture who are not even romantically involved with them, who are just gay friends, and they laugh, become popular, and remain—it’s a big deal.

Are you still in touch with the girls?
Once in a while, I speak to Kim and bump into Sarah and Cynthia at the theater. Kristin lives in L.A., so I don’t really see her too much. But the director and creator, Michael Patrick King, I’m in touch with a lot. I’ve known him for, gosh, 27 years.

What’s it like to be part of The View?
A blast. That keeps me afloat. I love it. I love all those girls. I get to sing, co-host and do commercials. I’ve been the lead guest, the second guest—I’ve done everything. If someone is supposed to co-host and doesn’t show up, they call me. On Dec. 21, I’m doing a Christmas-musical number.

Your Broadway debut was in Love! Valor! Compassion! in 1995. Will you be on Broadway again?
Yeah, I’m working on a new one-man show for 2013, which will be directed by Joe Mantello, who directed Love! Valor! Compassion!, Assassins and Laugh Whore, the one-man show I did on Broadway from 2004 to 2005.

What’s it like doing a one-man show? Do you get nervous?
Yeah, it’s terrifying. It’s also exhausting, cause it’s just you out there. I do six different musical numbers, so it’s like doing a musical on your own.

Where do you live? What are your favorite restaurants in your area?
On the border of the Chelsea-Clinton area. I love food very, very, verrrry much. For pizza, across the street is Co., which is the Sullivan Street Bakery’s pizzeria. It’s the greatest pizza in the world. Divine. Another great pizza place is Tavola. I love the Red Cat, which is on Tenth. If I want to go upscale, I go to Del Posto, which is my number one. I like the upscale restaurants, you know—I’m a hoity-toity diner. My other place is Scarpetta. Delicious. I do my little birthday tour of restaurants.

What is a birthday tour of restaurants?
My birthday was Sunday, and the whole weekend I go to dinner. Felidia, Per Se, Esca.

You mostly go out for Italian food. Do you think your Italian-American background affects your comedy?
Yeah, it’s certainly a part of who I am, and not only in the material, but in the way I speak and deliver sometimes, the cadence and the rhythm of it is very Italian-American.

What is the crowd like at your shows?
I would say 75 to 80 percent straight, sometimes even 90. It’s very interesting. I always say this: The gay crowd doesn’t really come to see stand-up as much. They like the women, which I get, cause I do too! And I poll it every time. I’ll say, “Where are my straight women?” Big applause. “Where are my straight men?” Big applause. “Where are my gay men?” Like 12. When I am put in front of a mostly gay audience at a benefit or something, and they’re forced to see me, it’s amazing. They love it. I wish they’d come out more, but they don’t for me. But anyway, it’s okay. I love my people.

Mario will be performing at Gotham Comedy Club on Dec. 13 through 15. For more information on Mario, visit www.mariocantone.com

Comedian Lee Camp has finally released a book version of Moment of Clarity, his clever web series of political rants. Published in both paperback and e-book formats, Clarity anthologizes 90 of the smart humorists best position pieces and adds in twenty never-before-seen photos of Occupy protests. As the book demonstrates, smart humor is quite possible, as Camp emerges as a Gen-Y Lewis Camp.

Camp is an informed liberal with no qualms about calling people out on their hypocrisy, laziness, or general small-mindedness. Topics in his F-word-riddled book include witty ruminations on everything from the truth about American history (“When kids get lied to, they grow up to be first-rate douche-tards. It’s a proven fact”) to lab-grown meat (“the only reason you can say you prefer cow meat over lab-grown meat is if you insist you prefer your beef taco has the slight taste of memories”) to a slanted take on Wikileaks (“I knew it was the most wonderful invention since Oprah created a sexual preference that’s neither gay nor straight”).

While sarcasm is usually a tool for more insecure people to use in conversation, Camp wields his like a weapon. Using a distinct voice that combines current low-brow conversational slang with erudite wisdom and research, Camp cuts through behavioral BS. Witness his take on death row inmate Troy Davis, arrested at the age of twenty for killing a police officer, who remains there even though seven of nine witnesses have since recanted their statements in the ensuing two decades. On top of that, one of the two remaining witnesses is actually considered by many to be the true culprit. The comedian-writer mocks zealous Georgia governor Nathan Deal while also exhorting the public to wise up to gross miscarriages of justice, both legal and social, over their more mundane concerns (Davis was ultimately, and controversially, put to death in September 2011).

Camp’s voice finds a firm middle ground between angry humor and urgent seriousness, making both sides of the spectrum accessible. And his range of interest is certainly versatile, running the gamut from Justin Bieber to reinstating the draft. In short, he’s a humane observer, keen on opening up everyone else’s eyes. There is a great deal of thought put into his work.

For those who are also interested in viewing the man in action, Clarity provides YouTube links atop every essay so readers can check out the corresponding video clips of Camp’s smart tirades. This is more than just an extra step of self-promotion. Camp is vitally interested in forging a real connection with the audience he so fervently exhorts to action. One of the most salient points this ribald, attention-worthy comedian makes is that we’re all in this together.

Check out more information at www.leecamp.net.