Billy Crystal Comes to Cleveland

From his television days, on Saturday Night Live and Soap, to his feature films like When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers and Monsters Inc., Billy Crystal has become one of America's most beloved comedians. 

Wednesday night Crystal comes to Northeast Ohio to share what he describes as a stand-up/sit-down show - Spend the Night with Billy Crystal - at the State Theatre in Playhouse Square.

The new show is a combination of stand-up comedy and a sit-down interview with interviewer and fellow comedian Bonnie Hunt.

"We get to some very interesting, and at times poignant, moments in talking about some of these phenomenal people I've rubbed shoulders with," Crystal said.

The opportunity to have an unrehearsed interview live onstage opens the program up to new possibilities.

"It definitely feels funnier.  It's less presentational if you will.  I don't know where [Hunt] is going to lead me.  Shows are totally different from night to night.  For the audience it feels more special to them," Crystal said.

That sponataneity also leads to new material for the 69-year-old comedian.

"It's such a great feeling after all of these years to run back to the hotel room after the show and write stuff down that I just did.  I hadn't done that since I first started out in the mid-70's," Crystal said.

Listen to Mike McIntyre's interview with Billy Crystal Friday during the 1 p.m. hour of Here and Now featuring the Sound of Applause on 90.3 or listen to above podcast.

Meanwhile you can check out Mike McIntyre's story on Billy Crystal in the Arts & Life Section of The Plain Dealer, this Sunday.