Kurt Weitzmann and Howard Stone have plenty of experience making people laugh; they've both been stand-up comics for about 20 years.
For their next show, they had a little divine inspiration.
A birthday roast for Stone a few years ago and a shared fondness for Steve Allen's "Meeting of the Minds" gave the duo the idea of putting on their own roasts. With famous people. Or, rather, a cast of mostly stand-up comedians pretending to be famous people.
This weekend marks the return of the duo's "Jesus Roast: The Celebrity Roast of Jesus H. Christ." It's the fifth time they've done the show, and roasters include Jackie Mason, Buddha and Mother Teresa; new this year are L. Ron Hubbard and O.J. Simpson.
"We wanted celebrities because the whole format of the roast, the old Dean Martin roasts, were all celebrities," says Weitzmann, who plays Jesus. "So we wanted that aspect, too. We want the Hollywood and the modern times."
The men admit that, in roasting someone like Jesus or Adolf Hitler - the subject of another of the duo's roasts - they have to be pretty careful about what they say. Attending a comedy show means the risk of being offended, but many people find few things funny about either Jesus or Hitler.
"We've censored ourselves," says Stone, who plays Mason. "We've come very close, and we realize what works and what doesn't work. At the Hitler roast, hardly a reference to the Holocaust was in the entire thing, and that's what made it work.
"We really were walking a tightrope on that one."
The men say they mix insults and social commentary into the roast. About 80 percent of the show is scripted; the rest is up to the performers.
"The whole idea is we can throw in the highbrow with the lowbrow," Weitzmann says. "You get the historical references, and then you get these irreverent slams that you can do to these people of high standing."
To try to make things a little more interesting, Stone and Weitzmann added backstories to the roasters: Bacchus is a recovering alcoholic; Pontius Pilate is a Hollywood executive. The Virgin Mary complains about Jesus' horrible, painful birth.
"That's I think what makes these roasts a little bit better, because there is something of substance," Stone says. "There's a little bit of character behind all of them, not just a little stereotype, but a backstory that pushes it."
And, if nothing else, the show gives the comedians another chance to try to make people laugh.
"I think both of us, personally and collectively, just sometimes are sick of the comedy scene," Stone says. "We're always trying to do something new and different."
- Andrea Abney, aabney@sfchronicle.com
This article appeared on page G - 16 of the San Francisco Chronicle
SF WEEKLY
Once again it's that festive time of year when we give tribute to two men with beards: Santa H. Claus and Jesus H. Christ. Since no one in their right mind would make fun of Santa, the folks at Comedy Noir have decided to throw a roast for the other beard, Christ. At "The Jesus Roast: The Celebrity Roast of Jesus H. Christ,” famous guests such as Mary Magdalene and Satan send up the most famous son to come out of Bethlehem, celebrating his influence on ritual, charity, and swear words worldwide. The show, created in less than seven days by Howard Stone and Kurt Weitzman — the same Weitzman who once poked fun at SF Weekly with the parody SF Weakly, but who has now clearly moved on to more influential targets — features the talents of Will Franken, Caitlin Gill, Beth Schumann, Candy Churilla, Nick Leonard, Mickey Joseph, and others, all proselytizing the irreverent. Jesus' life may not seem to offer much in the way of comic material, but let's not forget that he was a stand-up guy from humble beginnings who rode asses and convinced people that water was really wine. Just to honor that last trick alone, Dean Martin will surely be attending this roast as the Holy Spirit.