William Shatner is the original Captain Kirk and quite possibly the most unintentionally hilarious human on planet earth.
No talk show appearance with Shatner is complete without someone pulling out one of “interpretations” of the songs Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, or his infamous redo of Rocket Man, which became a huge pop culture touchstone in recent years, especially after Family Guy goofed on it.
Not to mention Shatner’s halting line delivery – and who could forget when John Belushi did it perfectly on Saturday Night Live (“But-for-how-long?”), as the audience went nuts with laughter.
Still, whenever someone tries to bust Shatner’s balls with the hilarious performances of his past, he always flashes that Captain Kirk smirk and keeps his cool. Clearly the man does not rattle, or embarrass, easily.
Recently, we’ve seen Shatner do music with Henry Rollins, who clearly likes the old man and is amazed at the guy’s energy as he’s pushing eighty, and Captain Bill also recently did a cover of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man with former Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde.
So what’s next? A one man Broadway show, what else?
According to Entertainment Weekly, the show is Shatner’s World:We Just Live in It, and it will run from February 14 to March 4. The producers of the show promise that “the two-hour show will take audiences on a voyage through Shatner’s life and career, from Shakespearean stage actor to internationally known icon and raconteur.”
The thought of Shatner going wild onstage with the kind of free form hilarity he’s known for could be too strong to resist. I’m sure it will be completely hilarious, completely Shatner, and a testament to the man’s fearlessness as a performer.
If he does Rocket Man, it’s worth the price of admission alone, and at this point it could be his Smoke on the Water or Paranoid, the song he’d better perform – or there will be riots.
