If you’re ever stuck on a geography quiz, call Russell Peters. The trailblazing comic showed off his expertise at both humor and world culture Friday at Treasure Island Casino, playing to a more diverse audience than you usually see at a Minnesota comedy show.
Peters, the first comedian to headline a major Netflix special, burst onto the scene by focusing on being raised by a strict Indian father in Canada, a R-rated version of Bill Cosby’s classic routines.
But his current tour, titled “Relax: It’s Not That Serious,” broadens his target by engaging with fans lucky -- or unfortunate -- enough to sit near the front of the stage.
The best moments of the 70-minute set was when he sought out people of color, improvising bits that showed off his variety of accents and a deep knowledge of a world beyond our borders.
When riffing with an audience member with Malaysian roots, he not only knew that the country uses ringgets as currency, but what it’s worth in American dollars. He asked a Native American couple, both sporting long hair, just how much shampoo they go through at home. He engaged with folks from Boreno, Guyana and Pakistan as if he was hosting a United Nations tea party.
Some of the material sounded dangerously close to cheap insults, like when he explained how he landed his Filipino wife with a coupon and how he wants to launch an Indian dating app called “Connect the Dots.”
“I’m the captain now,” he quipped after discovering a Somali in the crowd.
But Peters, 54, has been doing this long enough to avoid stepping over the line. His disarming smile and good-natured delivery let him get away with jokes that might otherwise lead to a bar fight.
