The blurred reality of Stephen Colbert’s world

Many of the show’s greatest hits have been entirely apolitical, like the “meta-free-phor-all” with Sean Penn, or singing “Go Down Moses” with civil rights activist and politician Andrew Young, author Malcolm Gladwell and the Harlem Gospel Choir.

After such shows, Colbert likes to sarcastically announce to his staff: “Remember, it’s just like O’Reilly!”

Since falling while running around his “C”-shaped desk and breaking his wrist, he’s advocated “wrist awareness” by selling “WristStrong” bracelets. All proceeds go to the Yellow Ribbon Fund to assist injured service members and their families.

When asked how long he plans to keep wearing the band and stick with the joke, Colbert turned more serious than at any other point in our conversation. He replied firmly, “Not until the war is over.”

That’s about as close as Colbert comes to any kind of political statement. His interests are in people and in comedy.

“It is a sketch comedy show,” he says. “So far, it’s a 2 1/2-year sketch. I think of the entire show as a single scene. I’m just working on an 84-hour comedy project, and that’s how we think of it.”

'I am not a passive verb'
In such a comedy project, Colbert compares himself to a “wind-up toy.” Unable to plan ahead, he must always react to the news, to the initiations of his devoted audience and to his reflection in the media.

“I am not a passive verb,” he says. “This is first person, present tense, at all times. I am a verb. As Buckminster Fuller said, ‘I seem to be a verb.’ The show is present tense, present active. We’re not passive, we don’t observe. We set the news agenda. We create the news. We throw the pebble of the show into reality and we report on our own ripples.”

It’s a clearly frantic, near-insane job (“I’m tired all the time,” he admits) and one can’t help but wonder how much longer Colbert — who lives with his wife and three kids in Montclair, N.J. — can keep it up.

When asked this, he puts his head down and is silent for a full 20 seconds. He finally breaks the quiet, “The short answer is, I don’t know. The facile answer but maybe the true answer is, as long as it’s fun.”

For now, the circus goes on. Backstage at the Philadelphia shows, the surrealism was in full force.

Ralph Archbold, a Ben Franklin impersonator (and therefore a man simpatico with Colbert in leading a dual life), was blown away that Colbert knew the Star Spangled Banner was written after the War of 1812. “How many people in showbiz know that?” he wonders.

Watching from the wings, R&B singer John Legend — who had just sang the Star Spangled Banner with Colbert — marveled at the comedian. Like Archbold, he gives him credit for his skill in a craft not his own: “He can sing. He really can sing.”

It becomes apparent how welcoming and joyful Colbert’s act is. Grammy-winner, historical impersonator; Democrat, Republican. Colbert will make a mockery of you, but you’ll love every minute of it.

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