AS 22: Delusions of Grandeur (with Whitney Matheson and Eytan Mirsky)

American Splendor scene #22 (56:33 to 1:02:31) — “Westward Ho!” Harvey & Joyce travel to L.A. to see American Splendor: The Play. Things are finally breaking Harvey’s way. But his ascendancy is complicated by Joyce’s emotional struggles. She wants… a family. Guest Whitney Matheson returns! And this episode features an interview with singer-songwriter Eytan Mirsky, who appears and sings in the film.

The actual history of the various American Splendor stage productions. What is “polymorphously perverse”? How Eytan auditioned for the role of Harvey! The hosts talk about the decision to have (or NOT not) children. Dean’s career as a playwright. What phone call changed your life? What would you title your “life’s play”? How Seinfeld reruns got Whitney out of bed, and eventually to a very special one-on-one interview.

Shout-outs to DVD easter eggs, Donal Logue, Molly Shannon, Dan Castellaneta, R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders, Josh Neufeld & The Seven Stooges, Dean’s biological daughter Ruby, piggyback rides, and “po-ta-to chips.”

Episode Notes

“Thanks, ‘Seinfeld’: How Jerry’s show helped heal me,” by guest host Whitney Matheson (USA Today, Nov. 5, 2013).

Herb O’Dell as Harvey Pekar, from the 1985 American Splendor stage play, created by Conrad Bishop, and performed at The Independent Eye, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Dan Castellaneta as Harvey Pekar in the 1990 American Splendor stage production, created by Vince Waldron and staged at the Theatre/Theater in Hollywood, California.