Jim Carrane Is Living in a Dwarf’s House, at the Second City E.T.C., and The Gong Show (Freaks on Parade), WNEP Theater. Jim Carrane knows a thing or two about making people laugh–he’s a master of self-deprecating humor, whether detailing his frustrating experiences planning his grandmother’s 95th birthday party or contemplating his own future as a minimum-wage grunt. Once again he tries to pass himself off as just another misanthropic, sad-sack loser in this one-man show, cowritten and directed by Gary Ruderman, but his charm makes that impossible. Even at 36, Carrane views the world through a child’s eyes, marveling at the wonders of volume discounts at Sam’s and becoming positively giddy at the prospect of a check from a relative. Yet his material is unquestionably sophisticated, and he never resorts to phony gags or cheap one-liners. Frank to the point of bluntness about his deep-seated insecurities, he’s utterly ego-free as a performer.
