Comics use ethnicities to discuss Middle East

Everyday, newspapers are filled with the gloom and doom surrounding the situation in the Middle East. Little optimism pokes through the ink.

However, two comedians have developed their own brand of hope.

Billed as "Stand up for Peace: The Two-Comedian Solution to Middle East Peace," Jewish and Arab-American comedians Scott Blakeman and Dean Obeidallah have been using their stand-up comedy routine with a specific objective in mind.

"The goal of our comedy is to bring people from different backgrounds together, make them laugh, give them hope and enlighten them," Blakeman said. "The Middle East situation has been so depressing over the years. If people leave the show feeling better, it may inspire hope in them."

Blakeman said he uses his "liberal Jewish perspective" on general life subjects to relate to different audience backgrounds. Although his act includes political humor, it is not an analysis of the Middle East conflict.

"Some speakers polarize people when they talk about the Middle East," Blakeman said. "Our show allows people to think about the Middle East without turning them off."

Since its inception in 2002, Blakeman and Obeidallah have taken their critically acclaimed message across the United States to comedy clubs, temples, community functions and educational institutions such as Yale, Harvard and Stanford.

Now, the show is coming to the Footlik Theater at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines.

"Stand up for Peace" will be presented Saturday by Hands of Peace, an interfaith organization formed in 2002. The production will act as a fundraiser for the group.

"The monies raised will be used to promote our program of bringing teens from Israel and the West Bank to stay in an American home," said Maggie Cain, communications chair for the group.

"The teens spend two weeks in the summer taking part in a dialog about the Middle East conflict, touring and doing team exercises."

Saturday's show will open with an intro and light banter between the two comics. Then, Blakeman and Obeidallah will perform their individual routines before reuniting for a question-and-answer session.

"We are always looking to encourage dialog about the conflict, but most of the time it is serious," Cain said. "It's nice to have this issue presented in a lighter way."

The production will run just a little over an hour without intermission. Light refreshments and a meeting with the performers will conclude the evening.

"Sometimes people's images of Jewish and Arabs are based on ignorance," Blakeman said. "When they see us perform and talk about our families and backgrounds they get a better understanding of how we are all really the same."

If you go

What: Comedians' Scott Blakeman and Dean Obeidallah's Stand up for Peace

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: Footlik Theater at Oakton Community College, 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines

Admission: $60 adults, $30 students and children

Call: (847) 277-1914