COMEDY SCENE
Fatherhood likely to offer lots of entertaining material

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Wayne Brady 7 p.m. Sunday Hawaii Ballroom, Sheraton Waikiki Hotel $35, $45 526-4400 Also: Brady performs at 7 p.m. Monday at Castle Theater, Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Kahului; $35, $40, $45; (808) 242-7469 "The Wayne Brady Show" airs at 9 a.m. weekdays on KGMB-9

"Looking back, I'd say it's been pretty cool," he said of his career and the latest perk in his life.

With impending motherhood for local-girl wife Mandie Taketa, Brady — a variety show host, impressionist, singer and comic — figures he'll have a round of new material to share with his TV and club audiences.

"We're preparing the same way any parent would," he said in a phone conversation last week, when he interrupted his island working holiday to talk story. He gives a concert Sunday night here and Monday night on Maui.

"You read all the books you can. You get the nursery ready. You try to talk through it, asking for advice. At the end of the day, though, no book will prepare you for the life coming out. (Mandie) is doing all the prep work herself physically, but I'll stand by."

The couple will have their baby in Los Angeles.

Asked if he's hoping for "The Brady Bunch," meaning a larger family, Brady said: "We want to have more children, but we'll have to get past the first one."

His latest endeavor, "The Wayne Brady Show," is a syndicated variety show competing for talk-show slots, in more than 60 percent of the TV markets now — and growing.

"It really isn't a talk show, if you've seen it," he said. "It's really a daytime variety show, where I interview guests, sing, have fun. We have tons of musical guests, and I often get celebs to do what they don't normally do. Main thing, we entertain."

He said his is the only new variety show already picked up for 2003.

The daytime venture is an extension of his popular ABC-TV series, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" which earned him two Emmy nominations.

So what's his latest stage show going to be like?

"I'll do improvised songs, based on what audiences want to hear, and certainly a lot of comedy and a lot of audience interaction," he said. "That's why people come to see me — the fun."

He said he's at ease in front of throngs. "As a performer, you're supposed to be at ease; that's why the people pay to come see you. To make them feel good and forget everything, at least for the next hour and 10 minutes."

The mix of comedy with music has become his staple.

Last fall, Brady made his debut as host of the Miss America Pageant, providing amusement with the cache of beauties on parade.

"It was a wonderful evening, definitely a high point in my career, to host one of America's prestigious pieces of history," he said. Sure, he said, there was some backstage stuff that happened. "Everyone wants the dirt, but when you're a professional, you have a good time (and don't tell)."

He said he's been asked to return. "I'll do it, if it fits the schedule of life, show and family."

"My goal (in any show) is to entertain," he said. "If something happens where I can enlighten, or if I can learn something myself, it's great. To be a good performer is what I strive for."

To be a good family man is a priority when he's not working, so Brady has been spending a lot of quality time here.

"It's why you work," he said. "To be able to spend time with your family during the holidays. Family is the most important thing of all."

Through repeated visits and exposure to the island lifestyle and cuisine, Brady has become a Zippy's chili junkie and a fan of both L&L and Yummy's.

"Love the kal bi," he said of the tasty Korean ribs. "And Zippy's chili is the best."

So how does he remain lean and trim?

"Just eat the chili, not the rice."

Told that Zippy's chili now is available by mail and at another fast-food franchise (and possibly becoming more visible on the Mainland), he chuckled: "I have to look into that."

Although he has a two-night Las Vegas gig tonight and Saturday, Brady will return for his Hawai'i shows and continue his island getaway.

Brady was Christmas shopping last week and fans recognized him.

He's cool with that. "You lose some of your privacy in show biz," Brady said. "But that's part of the deal. It is better to be recognized than not, but not when you're eating with a mouth full of food. If it weren't for the people, you wouldn't be a success; but I'd say lunch and dinner are off limits. Especially if your fingers are dirty with kal bi."