The reason Im in this business, I assume all performers are — its Look at me, Ma! Its acceptance, you know — Look at me, Ma, look at me, Ma, look at me, Ma. And if your mother watches, youll show off till youre exhausted; but if your mother goes, Ptshew! – Lenny Bruce

A lot of people say to me, Why did you kill Christ? I dunno… it was one of those parties, got out of hand, you know. We killed him because he didnt want to become a doctor, thats why we killed him. – Lenny Bruce
We all know that the theater and every play that comes to Broadway have within themselves, like the human being, the seed of self-destruction and the certainty of death. The thing is to see how long the theater, the play, and the human being can last in spite of themselves. – James Thurber
The Miss America contest is the most perfectly rendered theater in our culture, for it so perfectly captures what we yearn for: a low-class ritual, a polished restatement of vulgarity, that wants to open the door to high-class respectability by way of plain middle-class anxiety and ambition. – Gerald Early
