Jeff Dunham & his puppets packed Cool Arena & kept it laughing Friday

By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer

Ventriloquist comedian Jeff Dunham had a sold out crowd of 5,286 at the Cool Insuring Arena laughing for two hours on Friday night, as the popular performer and his rambunctious quintet of puppets returned to Glens Falls for the first time since 2013.

Love was in the air as Mr. Dunham and his prankster puppet pals tried out material for their 11th special, “I’m With Cupid,” which is set to premiere Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. ET on Comedy Central ahead of Valentine’s Day.

For the occasion, Mr. Dunham’s well-known character Achmed the Dead Terrorist was rebranded Achamedes, Greek god of killer love, and his famous high pitched shout of “Silence! I kill you” was altered in favor of the surprisingly tender “Silence! I love you.”

Hilarity ensued as Achamedes’ arms kept falling off and Dunham rooted around for them on the floor, the result of the skeleton’s bones drying out and losing their structural integrity. The puppet wasn’t satisfied until Mr. Dunham plopped the missing limb back into place.

Other characters included the old curmudgeon Walter in a shirtless Cupid getup, the NASCAR-loving redneck Bubba J, and the talking pepper on a stick Jose Jalapeño, who offered up his love-life advice to crowd favorite and closer Peanut, an energetic purple puppet with green hair who was trying his hand at dating apps.

Not all the humor was scripted. At one point two cops hurriedly walked the entire length of the floor right in front of the stage, prompting Mr. Dunham to, of course, make them part of the act, inquiring if they were in search of donuts.

Later, Achamedes revealed his soft side by spontaneously launching into a rendition of Harry Nilsson’s 1971 hit “Without You,” prompting Mr. Dunham to pull the tune up on his phone. The audience all pulled out their phone flashlights, swayed them back and forth, and joined Achamedes in the emotional singalong.

Peanut closed out the night with high energy, riffing joke after joke aimed at people with no tongues (the puppet’s impersonation of people in such a predicament was priceless) and dispensing his advice to the audience in response to questions they had submitted to Mr. Dunham on note cards.

Mr. Dunham and his puppets have been entertaining audiences for decades. The comedian had a two-show stint at the then-Glens Falls Civic Center in 2009 that brought in nearly 10,000 people.

One attendee of Friday’s gig said she’s been a fan of Mr. Dunham’s since the late 80’s. Another said she’s been a fan since 1996, when she was still in high school.

Press information says that Mr. Dunham has performed in over 20 countries, his specials have garnered nearly 2.5 billion views across all platforms, and his 2010 autobiography “All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed, and Me” landed him on the New York Times’ Best Seller list for three weeks in a row.

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