Maybe it should be Mister-y Show?

Byline: LEWIS TAYLOR The Register-Guard

WANNA KNOW what to expect from "HBO's Mr. Show Live! Bob and David in Hooray for America!" a variety show coming to the McDonald Theatre on Wednesday?

Me, too.

Even after interviewing comedian David Cross, its co-founder and star, I was still no closer to understanding the format of this show with a long-winded title.

True, the interview only lasted 11 minutes. But I had hoped Cross would at least shed some light on his new production, which has so far been billed simply as a show for people who liked the television program.

OK. Here's where I confess that I have never seen HBO's `Mr. Show With Bob and David,' a collection of sketch comedy bits that ran for four years, earned two Emmy nominations and attracted a cult following before Cross and his comedy partner, Bob Odenkirk, pulled the plug because of unwelcome scheduling changes and general unhappiness with the direction things were going.

As Cross put it, no one was having much fun anymore.

My unfamiliarity with the TV show might have had something to do with my failure to communicate with Cross, but he spent most of the interview spewing profanity and beating me over the head with my own questions.

"C'mon, this is a family newspaper," I pleaded after Cross used only the word "vagina" to answer one of my questions.

"Well, this is a family show," Cross answered testily. "I don't know what you're implying."

I couldn't tell whether Cross was being angry or sarcastic, or whether, as I've long suspected, comedians just don't like me.

What's that, you say? I'm paranoid?

You may be right on that score, but I still believe comedians and I don't get along. One comedian from Washington state, interviewed in a casino after his show, was so angered by the story I wrote that he worked my name into his routine so he could insult me on a nightly basis.

I don't know whether it was my thin reporter's skin or Cross' thin comedian's skin, but this was not the first time I've had difficulty with an Emerson College dropout who tells jokes for a living.

Earlier this year, deadpan comedian Steven Wright barely tolerated me for the duration of our brief phone interview. While I tried desperately to get him to tell me something, anything, about his embargoed stage show, he killed time wandering the grounds of his rural New Hampshire property.

Wright gave me almost no information on his stand-up routine, but Cross, at least, offered a few hints.

What I gathered from him was this: Two comedy writers started a stage show, turned it into a television show and then converted it back into a stage show. No, Cross assured me, the show was not going to be reworked for television any time soon.

Cross said the 90-minute live show features some of the same sketches that appeared on the TV show, along with new material. Sets and props are minimal because the budget was blown on one "really expensive" prop made out of "gold and diamonds."

The television show featured more than a dozen supporting actors and comedians, but the live show features only three: Brian Posehn, John Ennis and Stephanie Courtney. Posehn and Ennis both appeared on the TV show. Courtney is new.

Odenkirk and Cross' r<216>sum<216>s are a Comedy Central headhunter's dream.

The two met while working on `The Ben Stiller Show,' a job that earned them a shared Emmy Award. Prior to that, Odenkirk wrote for `Saturday Night Live' and the Chris Elliott sitcom `Get a Life,' and played a coke-sniffing talent agent on `The Larry Sanders Show.'

Cross has appeared in the films "Men in Black" and "Waiting for Guffman," and he starred in his own HBO comedy special, "The Pride Is Back." Earlier this year, Cross came to the McDonald by himself on a stand-up tour.

In search of a few more details about the show, I turned to a `Mr. Show' press release, which proved to be about as much help as the visual diagram on the instructions for assembling Ikea furniture.

"Try to explain HBO's `Mr. Show With Bob and David' to someone who hasn't seen it," the press release taunted me. "Just try."

I get suspicious when people tell me something is beyond description, especially when they're talking about a series of comedy sketches. Usually, it means the show is really bad or the publicist is really lazy.

In this case, I think the show is likely to pretty good (even though I still know almost nothing about it). And I could probably say, without too much hesitation, that "HBO's Mr. Show Live! Bob and David in Hooray for America!" is worth your time and money.

But given my past history with comedians, I think I'll just keep my mouth shut.

Grumpy comedians who need to can reach entertainment reporter Lewis Taylor by phone at 338-2512 and by e-mail at [e-mail].

HBO'S MR. SHOW LIVE! BOB AND DAVID IN HOORAY FOR AMERICA!

WHAT: A variety show featuring Bob Odenkirk and David Cross

WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday

WHERE: McDonald Theatre, 1010 Willamette St.

TICKETS: $31

CAPTION(S):

Bob Odenkirk (left) and David Cross have adapted what started as a stage show and became a television show back for live audiences. Comedy