Steve Martin At The 92 St. Y: Book Talk Leads To Ticket Refunds!

Steve Martin learned Monday night that when a comedian talks about his book, nobody laughs. Or cares.

On Nov. 29 Martin spoke with the New York Times columnist Deborah Solomon at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. Mid-way through the discussion a Y employee brought Solomon a note that directed her to steer the conversation away from Martin's latest novel and to focus on his more popular career as an actor. The Y urged Solomon to change course after receiving numerous complaints from viewers via email.

Martin, offended by the turn of events, Tweeted the next day:

"So the 92nd St. Y has determined that the course of its interviews should be dictated in real time by its audience's emails. Artists beware."

Following the event, the Y offered all audience members a refund. The New York Times reported that Executive Director of the Y Sol Adler wrote in an email to its guests:

"We planned for a more comprehensive discussion and we, too, were disappointed with the evening. We will be mailing you a $50 certificate for each ticket you purchased to last night's event. The gift certificate can be used toward future 92Y events, pending availability."

Martin's latest novel, "An Object of Beauty," follows a young art dealer at the outset of her career in the dizzying New York art world. The book, published by Grand Central earlier this month, was met with generally positive reviews, such as those in The Independent and The Times.

The book also welcomed a dose of disapproval.The Guardian wrote, for instance:

Martin's prose is oddly flat and lacking in depth. It feels as though he has set out to write a satire, with an arch, knowing tone that is deliberately removed from the action - like a waspish bachelor uncle at a family gathering, commenting on proceedings from the edge of the room. But, somewhat problematically for a satirical take on the excesses of consumption, 'An Object of Beauty' isn't especially funny."

Most notable from that critique is the assumption that Martin, who is best known for his comedic film roles, must be funny to succeed. Last week at the Y, the audience seemed to agree.

The Times reported, "the audience cheered when Ms. Solomon read aloud the note [that asked her to re-direct the conversation]."

A writer for AOL News sided with these disgruntled fans after the fact, writing,

"OK, so maybe the folks attending the Y shouldn't have been expecting Martin to break out his banjo and start cracking jokes. But it's hard to believe the iconic entertainer didn't give them anything to work with!"

Now, in the days following the event, news sites across the web have weighed in. Gawker, Pop Eater, NY Daily News and Salon covered the fiasco, and NPR featured a particularly scathing critique of what it called the Y's "stunning" actions.

NPR stated:

"Listening to a human being speak and being put out that you didn't get what you ordered as if you've gone to KFC and gotten Original instead of Extra Crispy is ridiculous, risk-averse, and (coincidentally) deeply chicken-hearted behavior."

The article continues:

It is exactly -- exactly -- like demanding your money back because Elton John didn't play "Rocket Man." Too bad, so sad. Nobody promised you the cookie-cutter experience that every other audience seeing every other similar event has ever seen. When you see an artist perform -- and even more so when you hear an artist interviewed -- there is no guarantee of the content; that's the exact point of going. Why would you go to hear someone speak if you already knew what he was going to say? If you want to read about how Steve Martin feels about acting and comedy, couldn't you find several looseleaf binders full of that stuff? The guy is not a recluse.

Echoing a similar sentiment, Solomon herself told The New York Times:

"I had no idea that the Y programmers wanted me to talk to Steve instead on what it's like to host the Oscars or appear in 'It's Complicated' with Alec Baldwin. I think the Y, which is supposedly a champion of the arts, has behaved very crassly and is reinforcing the most philistine aspects of a culture that values celebrity and award shows over art."

Tracing the aftershock of the interview, it does appears that many fans' complaints stem from the fact that the onstage chat took on a distinctly bookish character. The A.V. Club wrote:

Part of the problem was that Solomon narrowly focused on "An Object Of Beauty" for the majority of the discussion, despite it only being released a few days prior, making it near-impossible for those who hadn't read it yet to follow along.

Still, other bloggers have offered an alternate interpretation of the events, placing full blame on Solomon, rather than on Martin or the Y.

Sean L. McCarthy, of The Comic's Comic, noted:

They had a comedy idol in front of them, and they were disappointed. I don't blame Steve Martin for this. I don't blame the 92Y for this. I blame Deborah Solomon for this. She had the ability to ask this comedy legend questions about his life and his pursuits, including the new novel about the art world, in a way that made people feel as though they were getting their money's worth. And she didn't do that. Instead, she chose to ask questions that interested her. For once, she learned that her magazine tagline -- "INTERVIEW HAS BEEN CONDENSED AND EDITED" -- should apply equally to her.

The blog Emdashes promoted the same stance:

Solomon's strategy was to treat the event like a book report, covering, almost chapter by chapter, Martin's new novel about the art world, An Object of Beauty.

All told, seems that Martin has gotten the last laugh. The author Tweeted today: "I am offering to erase my signature from signed books at 92nd St. Y."

Comments

[Wendi Wilkerson]

02:51 PM on 12/09/2010

If you check the webpage, you will see that the 92nd Street Y has a lot of arts and culture programming. The audience that night was not comprised of illiterate brutes, but rather of people who support the arts, especially arts education for young peple. However, they don't have the money, networking, or access to participate in the rarefied "art world" that Solomon and Martin do. Perhaps reading An Object of Beauty could help remedy that situation. But it came out too close to the interview for anyone to learn anything by reading it. As a result, the interview was an intricate philosophical conversation between art world insiders that the audience, comprised of "art world" outsiders who nonetheless love and support the arts, could not really follow. In their view, they subsidized a frankly self-indulent conversation that they were not really privy to understanding, and they felt cheated. Understandably, they wanted their money back. The controversy thus far has been painted as another skirmish in the culture war between the culturally illiterate, as the members of the 92nd St. Y have been portrayed, and the art heroes, who are represented by Steve Martin. In actuality, it was a communication breakdown that a little foresight and genuine interest in helping others understand the art world and how it assigns value and meaning to art could have totally prevented. As the interviewer and hence the audience's interlocutor, this was Solomon's responsibility. She shirked it to pursue her own interests.

[Fingerbo]

12:14 AM on 12/08/2010

The 92nd Street Y showed an utter lack of class in this situation. Martin was talking about art and his book. If people wanted him to trot out old yarns about his movies and so forth they shouldn't have attended this specific talk. They should have just listened to old comedy records and DVD commentary tracks. There's nothing more disloyal than a disappointed "fan."

[IMeMine]

11:06 AM on 12/08/2010

Your comments are smack dab on target. My feelings exactly.

[Janice Rawlins]

10:05 PM on 12/07/2010

Steve Martin, he is a funny guy and he is old and has been around a long time in the acting world.
I wish him the best and hope everything gets better for him. You go get em' Steve Martin, your funny as funny can get....nothing bad to say about you from me. I am making a New Year's thingy and that is to be more positive and no more negative talk, I think it helps to cheer people up."

[matzohball]

03:05 PM on 12/07/2010

So he wrote a serious book. Is no one aware that most comedians are actually depressed writers?

[wikiwiki]

09:55 AM on 12/07/2010

What were people expecting? Mr. Martin wasn't at the 92nd Y to do a stand up act, but to talk about his latest novel. Give me a break. What a bunch of babies. This just speaks to what our society has become; a bunch of tweeting babies whose live need to be a constant three ring circus for to be happy. Go drink or something. shame on deborah solomon and the Y

[ajf67]

02:55 AM on 12/07/2010

I'm on Steve Martin's side. What did these folks expect from a writer on a book tour? Since martin is a knowledgeable art appreciator, the conversation may have been out of the knowledge range of the audience. And I agree with the statement that it is like going to see Elton John and complaining that he didn't play Rocket Man.

[gregory57]

12:16 PM on 12/07/2010

No it's more like going to a see Elton John discuss a new book he has written, and complaning that he didn't play rocket man in Light-up hotpants.

[gregory57]

02:02 AM on 12/07/2010

Given a receptive, and open subject to interview, isn't the quality of the interview the responsibility of the interviewer?

[Heavenhound]

11:23 PM on 12/06/2010

People who expect a show should go to a show, not to an interview. That said, the Y didn't help the situation with its promotion. And the attendees were rude, for which there's no excuse. It's a bit like something I remember from several decades ago: I went with several friends to see Frank Zappa perform at the Fillmore East. Wonderful show, tight and complex, Zappa at the top of his form. And yet a couple of my friends grumbled loudly because the concert was only an hour and a half long, as opposed to the 4-hour Grateful Dead concert they'd attended the previous week. Their expectations kept them from enjoying a brilliant performance. I used to put their rude behavior down to the fact that they were stoned, but I've learned since how common this sort of thing is.

[Last Gasp]

05:53 PM on 12/06/2010

eat the hype suckers. everyone wins.

[skeller]

03:59 PM on 12/06/2010

I'm going along with NPR on this one. As long as the speaker shows up and doesn't just sit there in silence, you got no complaint--not even then if the person is known for weird behavior.

[David Durham]

01:53 PM on 12/06/2010

This is a bit disheartening to me. Mr. Martin wants to talk about his just published book? Imagine that. Fans have just got quit putting artists in traps. There's the 'cool-until-you're-successful' trap. And there's the 'try-something-new-what-are-you-doing?' trap. Don't forget the ol' 'we-liked-your-earlier-funny-stuff' trap that Steve appears to have been nailed by here. C'mon people, we like it when folks think 'out of the box' except for when they actually do so.

[allamericanelaine]

01:52 PM on 12/06/2010

And I always thought NY audiences were sophisticated instead of sophomoric. This mid-West gal would love to hear Martin expound on his latest book and the world of art. Shame on the Y for giving out refunds!

[msbeal]

11:58 AM on 12/06/2010

Did I read that right? People paid fifty bucks to watch Steve be interviewed? Well, there's the problem.

[rikkichic]

11:36 AM on 12/06/2010

I watched this interview from a satellite connection. Steve Martin followed the interviewer's lead. The interviewer-Deborah Solomon- was THE WORST interviewer I have ever seen. Everyone that attended the satellite viewing concurred. Nobody thought Steve Martin did anything wrong. In fact, he seemed so uncomfortable with the audiences' reaction to the poor interviewing skills you could tell he couldn't wait for the interview to be over. My heart went out to Steve Martin who will remain one of my favorite actors, comedians and writers.

[temon00]

11:06 AM on 12/06/2010

The sad thing is, this doesn't seem like the "impeach Obama" crowd. These people should know better than to try to overthrow Steve Martin for a refund. I wish I could get the same kind of treatment at Sacramento Kings games.