Steve Solomon brings hilarious family tales to the Palace Theatre

Steve Solomon would like to tell you about his wacky family.

He will perform his comedic one-man show, ‘My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m in Therapy!” at the Palace Theatre on May 19. Attendees will be in good company — more than a million people worldwide have seen the show, both on Broadway and touring.

The show is autobiographical, and Solomon spends his time onstage telling stories about his upbringing, his “strict” family and the day-to-day happenings in his life.

“I play some of the biggest performing arts centers in the country and it’s a lot of fun,” Solomon said.

He started off in a completely different field, working as a physics teacher. “And then I became assistant superintendent of schools, and then my brain turned to Jell-O,” he said.

Unable to deal with the politics of working in school administration, he decided to strike out and try something new. “When I left education, I left it abruptly because I was really going nuts with the bureaucracy and the nonsense rules,” he said.

But stand-up comedy wasn’t really working out, either, in the traditional sense. “Stand up is ruthless. Because if you have a job, everybody knows that you took that job from someone else, that’s the logic of it.”

Solomon quickly discovered that he had a unique talent. “I could change my voice instantly,” he said, doing quick-fire imitations of his grandmother, in a falsetto, and his smoker sister, in a low, gravelly voice. “Instantly I can have dialogues between these people … and it got me a little foot in the door.”

In 2002, he decided to make it personal. He grew up on the multicultural streets of Brooklyn with, as the title of his show says, an Italian mother and a Jewish father. So he turned his stories into a one-man show.

“We did it in a few little venues and I had to produce it myself. Money was tight,” he said.

He was picked up by the William Morris Agency in 2002, and they loved the concept. “And the rest is history. We opened on Broadway … we played two sold-out years and the only reason we closed it was because I had to go on tour,” he said.

Solomon believes that the show is well-received by audiences for a number of reasons, including the fact that it’s relatable despite being about his own life experiences. “The show is not just about my family. The show is about what happens when I see the TSA agents, when I go to the doctor, when I’m sitting in a cab in New York City.

“That’s what allows people to relate to the show. They don’t have to know my parents and my family. They have to have been to a doctor’s office,” he said.

“My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m in Therapy!” has even spawned a couple of other shows, including “My Mother’s Italian, My Father is Jewish and I’m STILL in Therapy!” and “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m Home for the Holidays.”

He also wrote a book titled “Political Correctness and Other Forms of Insanity,” which he made into a TV show.

Being a late bloomer on the comedy scene, Solomon is just glad to keep on going. “I’m delighted to be blessed that I can get out there and enjoy myself onstage and make people happy. That’s really why I do it,” he said.

As for what the Palace Theatre audience can expect from “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m in Therapy!”?

“They can expect to leave the show wiping their eyes with tears of laughter and holding their bellies,” Solomon said.

He added, “They can expect to have a wonderful evening of comedy … there’s no messages, nothing profound in it.”

Steve Solomon’s one-man show “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m in Therapy” will come to the Palace Theatre in Greensburg at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19. For information and tickets, visit thepalacetheatre.org.