In the ether

CLASS ACT Parenta would never put you in her act.

While some comics are notorious for stealing jokes, à la Robin Williams, doppelgänger bits are typically the result of pure coincidence. After all, great minds think alike. It even happened to Jerry Seinfeld, who surprised an audience at Gotham Comedy Club in 2000—after an opening act he obviously didn't watch—by telling the same joke (involving the discomforts of accidentally matching strides with a stranger on the street) we'd heard from the young comic proceeding him, and then became utterly confounded when no one laughed. It was pure schadenfreude to watch.

But usually, jokes share a concept, not a punch line (with the exception of anything ending in "Git 'er done!"). Last week, we witnessed the opposite: two very different ideas with bizarrely similar executions. Both original, both funny. Vive la coincidence.

Rachael Parenta,
heard Tuesday night at Mo Pitkin's in Chicks and Giggles
The joke: I was dating this dude. And once, when the sex was going awry, he turned to me and said, "Rachael, don't put this in your act." "Don't worry," I said. "I'm not going to put it in my act." "Please," he pleaded. I was like, "Anthony Michael Giovanni, I am not going to put you in my act. I know how fratboylike your co-workers at Morgan Stanley are—they'd give you such a hard time for having 'a little problem.' I mean, you're 42...that just happens!

And no one really cares anyway. Like, do you think your neighbors at 11 Stanton Street care that you need to wear a tiara and tutu to feel sexy? Please. Boring! I might as well read off social security numbers onstage...like yours: 157-44-3239. Yawn. Put you in my act? What am I, a bitch? I wouldn't do that—just like you wouldn't break up with me. Oh, wait...

CAPP: "MY MOUSTACHE IS THIS TALL" Lathan as Jeff Foxworthy's brother

Rob Lathan,
heard Monday night at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Talent Show
The joke: I'm Jerry Foxworthy, Jeff Foxworthy's older brother, and I can spot a redneck way better than my brother can. Like, I got this friend of mine who works nights with me at Dairy Queen, named Shane McDougal. I mean, this guy is the quintessential redneck. He shows all the signs of it—the ones we all have! Like, if you're working the Blizzard machine at Dairy Queen and you add in the Oreos and Heath Bars before you add the ice cream, you might be a redneck. If you took Sheila Waters to the high-school prom, like Shane McDougal did, you might be a redneck. Anybody else do that? You know who you are! If you live on 112 Mabry Lane, where Shane McDougal lives, you might be a redneck. Anybody can be a redneck! It's universal! Like, if your social security number is 258-41-2289, like Shane McDougal's, you might be a redneck. You know what I'm talking about! And the real kicker: If your sixth-grade homeroom teacher is calling out roll and, when she gets to your name, says, "Shane McDougal" and then you raise your hand and say, "Here!"...you might be a redneck.

Parenta performs in Thursday with Nick and John on Thu 19. Talent Show runs Monday nights in January. See listings for details.