Prospect Heights woman tries her hand at 'sit-down' comedy

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Robin Riebman

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Growing up in a house occupied by punsters and filled with laughter, it's not surprising that Robin Riebman chose to pursue a career as a comedian. What's surprising is how long it took her to do it.

After turning 60 last year, the Prospect Heights resident decided to do what she always dreamed: make people laugh. And not just from the sofa or across the dinner table where she regularly entertained friends and relatives with her anecdotes, but from a stage in a nightclub where people actually pay to see her perform.

She debuted as an opening act last August at The Laughing Chameleon in Glenview.

"They had to take me offstage with a hook I was having so much fun," said Riebman, who dubs herself a "sit-down" comedian. "I'm 60. My feet hurt. I'm tired and I want to sit down," she jokes.

After spending the last few months opening for others, Riebman — a former teacher, stay-at-home mom and volunteer — headlines for the first time at The Laughing Chameleon Saturday.

Her act consists mostly of anecdotes about her and her family, including her husband — Cook County Judge Hyman Riebman, of Rolling Meadows Third Municipal District. She says the judge fancies himself a bit of a cutup.

"He hasn't figured out the reason he's funny is because the sheriff's deputy in the room has a gun," she quips.

"He's a good sport," she says of Judge Riebman, her biggest fan.

"All day long my husband listens and makes decisions," she jokes of the man whose LSAT score she bested. "Then he comes home and he doesn't listen and doesn't make decisions."

Her initial 20-minute set now spans 45 minutes.

"I'm not a joke teller," she claims. "I'd forget the punch line. Stories I can remember because they happened to me."