Backstage: Paul Scott Goodman and the rebirth of 'Son of a Stand Up Comedian'

"Quadruple threat Paul Scott Goodman, singer-songwriter-scriptwriter-jokester, shambles over to a little cafe table at MetroStage. He's performing his solo show 'Son of a Stand Up Comedian' there through May 9. Goodman did the music and lyrics and co-wrote the script with his wife, Miriam Gordon.

Sipping a Scotch on the rocks after a Sunday matinee, he explains that the funny little song he just performed as an encore, all about his need for an audience, is titled 'The Ham Song' and originated in 'God Save the New Wave,' an early show of his and Gordon's.

The 52-year-old Goodman, a Scottish Jew whose burr remains intact (though peppered with Yiddishisms), grew up in Glasgow, the son of a 'semi'-professional stand-up comic who played bar mitzvahs on weekends and worked in the clothing business on weekdays. Goodman came to New York in the early 1980s, where he met and married Gordon. They now have two daughters in college, a 15-year-old son and a double-size apartment in SoHo. Their punk-inspired show, 'Rooms: A Rock Romance,' played at MetroStage in 2008, earning six Helen Hayes nominations, including a win for co-star Natascia Diaz. The show went on to a well-received off-Broadway run in spring 2009..."

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