Will's World

When Will Franken turned 34 last week and toasted himself with The Will Franken Birthday Show, it struck us as odd: Franken actually has an age? (And it's only 34?) He always seemed above ages, above the predictability of the years ticking past and the burden of growing old. It's probably because he always wears that same damn jacket. He's an elusive performer, a comedian who prefers one-man shows and the occasional one-off to regular comedy-club circuit work, which probably has more to do with those bridge-and-tunnel audiences than to the vitality of his work ethic. (For an example of the latter, just listen to Franken's podcasts at www.willfranken.com -- a perfectionist lurks under that mop of hair.) Today he launches another long-form, long-running solo show, Grandpa, It's Not Fitting, which concerns such things as political prisoner Too-koo Moo-moo, the Common Book of Chants, the Lord of Scientology, and Westminster Abbey. If all that doesn't strike you as a little weird, no doubt you've witnessed one of his dizzying shows, which tend to leave audiences a bit rattled about just what happened. This time around, bring someone who hasn't.