MANDEL TURNS ON THE KID APPEAL

All signs point to Howie Mandel being the next comedy phenomenon, in the giddy tradition of Steve Martin and Pee Wee Herman. We’re not talking about the fact that Mandel was able to headline the Universal Amphitheatre on Saturday, that he’s signed to star in two films and an HBO special or even that he’s a regular on TV’s “St. Elsewhere.”

No, we’re talking about the really important popularity gauges: At the Amphitheatre, fans lined up to buy $12 Howie T-shirts, knew all his most famous bits (the biggie is when he puts a rubber glove over his head) and--the real tip-off--laughed before he even did anything funny.

Like Herman, Mandel plays the eternal child, mischievous and impish but ultimately filled with a sense of wonder and curiosity. Mandel also recalls the late Andy Kaufman in his conspiratorial sense of audience involvement. When a woman left in the middle of the show, Mandel tried to get everybody in the audience to hide before she came back, the way a sixth-grader might try to cause trouble when the teacher’s gone.

While most of Mandel’s humor can appeal to the kid in all of us, the 29-year-old comedian occasionally strays too far into the realm of kiddiedom. He screened a mock-rock video for his song “I Do the Watusi” that wouldn’t be out of place on “Sesame Street.” It would be a shame if a comedian with Mandel’s quick wit and keen perceptions were trapped early on in a kiddie bag.

Mandel was at his funniest and most universal when he was ad-libbing with the audience. He can get more laughs out of “What do you do?” than most comedians get in their entire acts. (And pity the poor guy who replied that he was self-employed.) Mandel should put away most of the props and prepared jokes and spend more time improvising. That’s where his genius really comes across.