Will Durst

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More About

• Sarah Palin
• Newt Gingrich
• Michele Bachmann
• Politics
• Government and Politics

Will Durst feels a little out of place these days. "I try to stand in the middle, but the middle ground I used to stand on has shifted," he explains. "I'm standing in the same place and suddenly I'm way on the left of the playing field, but only because the playing field has moved. They've dragged the playing field so far over to the other end that even liberal Democrats are moderates." In such a polarizing climate, humorists seem have an easier time making subtle social commentary. "What a humorist can do is drop seeds of doubt," Durst says. "You're never going to change the way anybody thinks when you're onstage; your job is to make them laugh out loud, against their will. It's not a political rally, it's a comedy club. What a comic can do is make people say, 'Oh, I never thought of it that way.'" Of course he can't wait for the 2012 presidential election, particularly the GOP field of candidates, which includes Donald Trump ("He's trying to push the ridiculous threshold"), Michele Bachmann ("Sarah Palin without the toner"), and Newt Gingrich. "He called a press conference where he said he may or may not contact someone, who may look into forming an exploratory committee to see if maybe, perhaps, he will run for president some day. Why would he do this? Because America needs decisive leadership." 18+. (Photo by Pat Johnson)
May 3-7, 8 p.m.; May 6-7, 10:30 p.m., 2011