March 29-31

www.comediantomryan.com

It’s said that in the process of opening a new restaurant, there are three key factors to consider--location, location, location--and, similarly, when pondering the career of Tom Ryan, there are three facets to look at: writing, writing, writing. For one thing, his stand-up act is a thing to behold for those who of us who worship at the altar of beautifully-crafted material, where language and word choice and rhythm and tone reflect tne care and sensibility of a fine poet. Of course, it probably goes without saying that the topics to which he’s applying this loving, linguistic touch are themselves wholly original. Two of his signature bits are about items that can be found in just about any random kitchen--Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and Morton’s Salt--yet Tom’s inventive point of view, eye for detail and literate storytelling style have yielded singular, show-stopping treatises on these everyday items. David Letterman, who isn’t exactly easily amused or any kind of comedy pushover, went nuts for these bits and the rest of the material Tom has performed on visits to “Late Show With David Letterman.” (Check out his “Letterman” appearnces on Tom’s web site, and you’ll see what we mean.) The day after one of Tom’s “Letterman” performances, a movie executive called to offer him a writing deal. Not bad. And the writing theme really does run through the Tom Ryan saga: He’s written monolgue jokes for TV shows, he’s written material for comedians’ TV appearances and CDs (some might not wanna be identified), he writes a regular column for Shecky Magazine, a comedy e-zine, and he does all kinds of other writing--including generating customized material for some of the many corporate shows he’s asked to do each year. But when it comes to this week at Cap City, we’re really more concerned about the writing he’s done for himself--this stand-up is the Real McCoy; this is what people mean when they talk about stand-up comedy as an art form.