Funniest. Man. Alive.

David Sedaris

Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

Byham Theatre

(412) 456-6666

Mullets,… David Sedaris

Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

Byham Theatre

(412) 456-6666

Mullets, “Jackass: The Movie” and Will Ferrell’s impression of George W. Bush are all things that are funny.

But none of these things are as funny as David Sedaris.

Sedaris’s most recent book is his hilarious opus of familial and self-deprecation, “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” but Sedaris fans lucky enough to get a ticket to the soldout show at the Byham tonight are certainly hoping that he’ll read material for a new, as-yet-unannounced book.

In his three books, “Pretty,” “Naked” and “Barrel Fever,” Sedaris spares no one in his sphere, least of all himself. “Go Carolina,” an essay about his grade school time spent with a sadistic speech therapist, inspires the title of “Pretty”: Sedaris learned to eliminate the “s” sound from his speech. His most hilarious essay, “You Can’t Kill the Rooster” is a character sketch of his wild younger brother Paul. Of his brother’s accent, Sedaris says, “Here was a child who, by the time he had reached second grade, spoke much like the toothless fishermen casting their nets into Albemarle Sound.” Taken out of context, the sentence is just chuckle-worthy. Within the body of the essay, however, the description is howlingly funny.

Sedaris’ razor-sharp wit, perpetually straight delivery and penchant for humiliation – whether his family’s or his own, recounting, for example, his dehumanizing experience as a Macy’s Santaland elf or trying out a urine collection device (no, really) – makes him a favorite of everyone from literary types who appreciate his deadpan tone to people who just like to have a good laugh.

Reading Sedaris’ work is like eating creme brulee: You start out wanting just a little taste, and by the end, you find you’ve devoured the entire pan. And you want more. Bring on seconds.