The Princess Theatre for the Performing Arts in Decatur will present An Evening with Mark Russell Thur., Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m.

The event is sponsored by Decatur Physicians and made possible by a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Russell appeared at the Princess in 1986.

Long before Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert, there was Mark Russell, daring to joke and sing of the often-absurd political process. He started in a little piano bar on Capitol Hill right across from the lawmakers themselves. Mark continues to play off the day’s headlines, performing standup comedy while accompanying himself on the piano. His impeccable timing, twinkling eyes and shock-of-recognition insights into American politics, he draws merriment from the pomposity of public life.

Russell starred for over 30 years in public television as host of the Mark Russell Comedy Specials, where he was consistently among the top-rated shows on that network. With hundreds of performances across America, he is loved by millions. Russell has often been asked the question, “Do you have any writers?” His standard response is “Oh, yes, I have 535 writers – 100 in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives.”

Reserved tickets range form $40-$30 and are available online at: http://www.princesstheatre.org. For group sales and more information, call the box office at 256-340-1778.