When Jerry Seinfeld hits the stage this summer for his live HBO standup concert, it’ll be a repeat — of sorts. He’ll be doing routines he has done many times before, but this time it’ll be for charity.
According to a source familiar with the nascent special, at least a portion of the proceeds generated will go to a charity that has yet to be identified by Seinfeld or his camp.
Selecting a charity is just one of numerous choices still to be made for the show. So far, the TV titan has yet to settle on a venue, though a source at HBO confirms he is looking at Broadway theaters for the event.
Since announcing he was leaving his TV show, Seinfeld has taken in such Broadway shows as “The Capeman” and “1776,” which are at the Marquis and Gershwin, respectively.
Meanwhile, the concept for the special is the last-time telling of some old jokes and vintage routines.
“He is retiring old material,” said a source familiar with the concept. “All the standup he’s doing (for the special) is standup he’s done before.”
The program, aptly enough, will be titled “I’m Telling You for the Last Time.”
“I don’t know how much he’s got in his catalog,” the source said. “If you’ve seen some of his standup, you’ve seen some of this.”
It’s expected that Seinfeld in the week before the special will hold several performances as a warmup. HBO will tape one of the preshow performances just in case a major problem arises the night of the live telecast.
Word is that at least a portion of the seats for each warmup show will be made available to the public, but like most other details involved with the program, how, when and how many hasn’t been decided.
The first step is to settle on a theater. Then a promoter will be hired to dole out tickets.