Comedian John Hodgman brings ‘Vacationland’ to Durham

If Steve Martin has a successor among the next generation of American humorists, it might be John Hodgman, who has been plying a similar style of humorously deadpan erudition for nearly a decade in a variety of formats – on page, stage, podcast (“Judge John Hodgman”) and television screen as “Resident Expert” on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” Hodgman’s latest undertaking is “Vacationland,” a 75-minute comedic monologue that has been described as a “white privilege mortality comedy.”

In advance of his Saturday night show at Durham’s Carolina Theatre, we caught up by phone.

Q: Have you spent much time down here in what the chamber-of-commerce poets call “The Southern Part of Heaven”?

A: I’ve been to The Old North State quite a few times, performing for my various books of fake trivia and comedy. “Vacationland” is the nickname of a different state, Maine, which is a cruel joke because it is home to the most painful beaches on Earth. In Portland, Maine, I saw a young man who has been to several of my comedy appearances. I first met him at the Regulator in Durham when he was 10 years old, and now he’s a young college student. You have fine universities there; why he’d choose winter in Maine I do not know. Maine is a place where people seek meteorological trauma to gain life experiences because they do not feel they deserve happiness.

Q: Why does “Vacationland” call Massachusetts “the birthplace of rage”?

A: Massachusetts is the birthplace of Yankee self-loathing, resentment of others, disbelief in pleasure. The Puritan legacy of believing one should never be happy tempered with a climate that suggests one should never be comfortable, either, was forged there. Marty Walsh, the mayor of Boston, wanted “Roadrunner” by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers to be the official state song. It’s a great, beautiful song with “I’m in love with Massachusetts” in the lyrics. But then some people in Massachusetts learned that another person wanted something and that could not stand. The idea that somebody else wanted something perfectly rational, with no stakes or effect on reality, meant that others who did not care had to come up with an alternative and fight about it. So they insisted on Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” which I will say right now is definitely a song. Not a rock song, more like a power ballad. But there was a stalemate and nobody got what they wanted, which is perfectly Massachusetts.

Q: So why do you still live in the Northeast?

A: I don’t know the answer to that. Part of it is family connections and roots. But at the same time, the waters in Maine are Lovecraftian hellscapes made of hate, they are cold with murderous intent, and the beaches are made of jagged sharp rocks. Science has discovered there are other places to vacation – like your Outer Banks, which have warm, welcoming waters and sands. But you have to think in your heart that you deserve pleasure and comfort to take that kind of vacation. Having grown up in New England, I can tell you that we just don’t feel like we deserve that.

Q: Since pets figure into “Vacationland,” are you a dog or cat person?

A: For the first time I can think of, I am beast-less as of last year, when our 19-year-old cat passed away. We took him to be professionally poisoned. I don’t know why they put the gloss on it, but that’s what happened. As a pet owner, your duty is to help it come to a comfortable end. That happened and it was sad. I miss my cat and cats in general, but I have to say I am loving the freedom of not having to handle another creature’s feces anymore. It’s like being a teenager again. We’ll probably wait until the kids are old enough to be out of the house and get a dog for the first time, which will help with the sadness we’ll be feeling. A dog seems like a perpetual special-needs toddler, adorable but taxing.

Q: After Jon Stewart’s departure, are you still a cast member of “The Daily Show” with new host Trevor Noah?

A: I continue to be part of the show, but it’s being redefined, which is exciting to watch. I planned and booked this tour long before I knew Jon was leaving the show, so I’ve not yet been around to appear on it. I look forward to it. I also hope Trevor meant it when he told me he still wanted me or it’s going to be awkward when I show up. What we’ve seen so far is this bright and luminous and wonderful new host who is using correspondents and contributors in interesting new ways. I’m trying to figure out the best way to return – “Resident Expert,” “Deranged Millionaire”? Or maybe this guise now, where I set all that aside and I’m just myself, a 44-year-old mustachioed weird dad. I will say, I am the world’s greatest John Hodgman impersonator. I really nail that guy.

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Comedian John Hodgman brings ‘Vacationland’ to Durham."