If you know Gary Gulman, you know his romance with the science of word selection that he’s mastered over the course of his years on stage. It’s a romance so passionate, in fact, that it’s partly responsible for the makeup of his latest comedic endeavor in Grandiloquent, a one-man show that Gulman is bringing home for the first time this weekend with one night at Shubert Theatre on Saturday (October 25), where an element of the show takes a dive into the role that literature and reading played in his life as a coping mechanism amidst a tough childhood.
As we gear up for the return of “The Gul,” we wanted to take a look back and celebrate a handful of times he not only dazzled, but also purely dominated in the paint when it came to setting up some of his most memorable bits with a verbal gymnastics routine that has continuously solidified and re-solidified his place as a true Larry Bird of linguistics in the comedy realm. As you can imagine, it was fairly laborious, arduous even, to pick just five. Check ‘em out.
The State Abbreviation documentary (It’s About Time, 2016)
If you’re a comedy nerd, this is arguably one of the most skillfully crafted, and meticulously worded bits to ever make its way to the stage. From the very premise to the frustratingly vivid and articulate verbal illustration that brings us on this roller coaster synopsis of a completely made up documentary that definitely didn’t have us initially searching Netflix, this should be, and will be for years to come, the prime example of what makes Gulman such a linguistics wizard. It’s a moment that would make Dottie, that vulgar lush, so proud.
Community College Dentistry (Born on 3rd Base, 2023)
Not only is this a fun little peek into the working class upbringing of Gulman, as it folds seamlessly into the fabric of this particular special, but just the fact that he found a way to include the words “incisor” and “bicuspid” into a story and not have it feel like he was simply pulling words out of a dictionary to beef up the delivery is beyond impressive. The passion with which he muses on the incompetence of hungover dental students taking their midterms in his mother’s mouth is a beauty of a takedown, too.
Hitler’s Shenanigans (It’s About Time, 2016)
Although this particular instance is in reference to a conversation he was having with a friend, the way Gulman carries the premise and stretches it to the point of accusing nazis of “hijinx” and “ballyhoo” further displays just how much fun he can have by not just building a great story, but also being deliberate in the words he chooses to fill those spots that could be more easily used up by lame and boring words.
‘No Can Defend’ (No Can Defend, 2012)
The oldest material in the bunch, this bit shows just how long Gulman has been at this subconscious pursuit of being quite possibly the most well-spoken comedian in the game. While not necessarily dripping with any particular chop-up of words, honing in on the legendary Karate Kid phrase as a way of totally decimating the flimsy plot points of the film show another aspect of Gulman’s comedic agility in the earlier days of his recorded material – an agility that truly “no can defend.”
Trader Joe’s showdown (It’s About Time, 2016)
As we combed through these moments, we did realize that many of the ones that stand out most come from the same special, which very well could mean this one in particular could be considered Gulman’s great linguistic manifesto to date. That becomes an even higher possibility due to the fact that, on top of the attention to detail when it comes to the words Gulman uses, this very mundane moment was whipped into stiff peaks of playful intensity that could warrant its own Lifetime courtroom drama that brings us to the edge of our seats for the entirety of a roughly 20-minute diatribe that carries us directly into the chaos that ensued in what Gulman correctly describes as not only a “Narnian” establishment, but also a “Xanadu.”
GARY GULMAN: GRANDILOQUENT :: Saturday, October 25 at Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 6 p.m., tickets start at $39 :: Advance tickets