Search the internet for Jeff Dunham and you’ll find numerous accounts of the ventriloquist-comedian’s success story as well as Forbes consistently ranking him in the past several years as a top-five earning comedian and one of the top 100 most powerful celebrities. You’ll read of astronomic ratings for his Comedy Central specials and the demise of his 2009 series on the same network. You’ll find television critics skewering Dunham for material that draws on racial, sexual and cultural stereotypes while YouTube clips receive millions and millions of views with countless comments celebrating his material.
You won’t, however, really experience why Dunham succeeds with audiences until you sit among his faithful fans, and until May 31 that can only happen at Planet Hollywood Resort’s 1,500-seat showroom. Jeff Dunham: Not Playing With a Full Deck finds him settling down into a six-month residency after a whirlwind world tour, demonstrating his comfort by playing in front of Vegas audiences in a more intimate venue than he’s accustomed to.
While a pre-performance video gives guests a few extra minutes to find their seats, not everyone always arrives by showtime. Master ad-libber Dunham playfully makes them part of the entertainment, breaking up the audience in the process. He riffs off the latecomers’ reactions to his taunts so effortlessly that the notion he could have planted them would be understandable if, on one night, the author of this article hadn’t witnessed them rushing to make the show from the valet. More audience interaction and a slide show kicked off by a segment involving Dunham’s parents sustains the momentum, with Dunham proving his mettle as an entertainer before introducing the “little people in the boxes.”
Dunham’s handheld ensemble cast includes grumpy old man Walter, manic Muppet-like Peanut, humanized hot pepper José Jalapeño and skeletal sociopath Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Dunham built his following during decades of performing and knows what makes his audience laugh. He’s not the guy for people easily offended by stereotypes, by Walter or Peanut’s use of “gay” as a pejorative, or Achmed’s insinuation that he and President Obama share the same birthplace (Hawaii, as it turns out).
Dunham is undoubtedly carrying forward the legacy of legendary ventriloquists such as Edgar Bergen and Señor Wences. The Texas native, who started his career at age 8 after receiving a mass-produced version of Bergen’s Mortimer Snerd as a gift and who designs his co-stars with state-of-the-art technology, masterfully coaxes facial expressions from his characters. While it’s not unusual for a Strip entertainer to plug merchandise during a performance, Dunham gives a demonstration of advanced ventriloquism while hawking his new “Little Jeff” character.
And, unlike on television or online clips, sometimes it seems like Dunham’s co-stars are indeed separate entities from their host, at least until he concludes his performances by firing souvenir versions of them into the audience with a bazooka. Judging from his own expression, it might be his favorite part of the show.
Planet Hollywood Resort 4 p.m. Sun., 7 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 4 & 7 p.m. Sat., starting at $72 plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
