Mad Magazine's Joe Raiola performs:

AMERICAN HERETIC

Friday, September 16 at 7.30

MAD Magazine's Joe Raiola is a dynamic comedic force and one of the country's most passionate defenders of free speech. In the outspoken and irreverent tradition of George Carlin, his new show, American Heretic, is a powerful evening of provocative comic theater. "My goal is to tear false things down," Raiola says  unapologetically, "so God and country seem like a good place to start."

In American Heretic, Raiola examines what he calls "The American Dick Crisis," which according to him is directly responsible for the out-of-control national debt. He fearlessly dissects what he calls "over-used, meaningless terms," like Sacred Ground and American Exceptionalism. And, as always, he finds humor in the nation's most hotly debated first amendment issues.

But Raiola is probably at his best when riffing on religion. His  outrageous "Theory of Holy Books," which postulates that you can't trust a Holy Book with more than 200 pages or weighing more than a half pound, is not to be missed.

Raiola's previous show, the controversial Almost Obscene, generated critical raves from coast to coast. The ad for the show, which depicted Raiola with a smart-ass grin flipping his index finger (as opposed to the finger) was banned by several newspapers. But more than anything else, Almost Obscene established Raiola as fearless and brilliant satirist of religion.

Joe Raiola has performed his unique brand of comedy in over 40 states at countless theaters, clubs and colleges. He remains Senior Editor at MAD Magazine, where he has been one of the creative innovators behind the magazine unprecedented longevity and success since 1984.