Comedian mines Jewish ritual

Even at age 13, Sean Altman saw humor in his bar mitzvah, the Jewish ritual marking his passage into adulthood.

“The irony of being 13 and being called a man wasn’t lost on me,” he said. “Wow, my voice hadn’t even changed yet.”

Now in his 40s, Altman captures his memories of that experience in “Today I Am a Man,” one song on his debut album, “Taller Than Jesus.”

Released last month to coincide with the Jewish holiday of Passover, it features “unkosher comedy songs” from the stage shows Altman performs under the appellation Jewmongous.

Part of the song about bar mitzvah goes:

“I’m a man – a man who can’t drink or vote.

“I’m a man – my voice cracks with every note.

“I’m a man – that’s what the rabbi said.”

Altman is the former leader of Rockapella, the singing group on the PBS show “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” He wrote the show’s theme song.

One song on his new album – “They tried to kill us (We survived, let’s eat)” – attempts to explain the history and rituals of Passover.

Other songs include “Blow, Murray, Blow!” an irreverent take on the tradition of blowing the shofar during the Jewish High Holy Days, and “Christian Baby Blood,” a rousing song that challenges the allegation that Jews killed Christian children and used their blood to make Passover matzoh.

Altman knows his language may be too strong for some people. His Web site includes this warning: “Prudish Parental Advisory: Due to adult themes and language, JEWMONGOUS is not recommended for children under 13 unless you’re raising them to be sailors.”

Some excerpts from a recent interview with Altman:

•On his Jewish identity: “I’m culturally very Jewish; spiritually, very secular. I’m not a believer.”

However, he adds, “Being Jewish has always been a big part of our (family’s) identity even though we only went to the synagogue once a year. I think it’s the experiences of my people coming here as immigrants in the early part of the century and pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps and having strange European accents and either escaping from the Holocaust or reading about the Holocaust.”

•On the source of Jewish humor: “A lot of this humor comes out of this culture of survival. My own theory is there’s comedy in oppression and the need to survive and grieve. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism.”

•On his comedic mentors: “So many of the giants of humor in television and film and stand-up have been Jewish. So much Jewish humor has been Woody Allen, Jon Stewart, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sarah Silverman, Seinfeld.”

•On what his humor attempts to express: “It’s not self-deprecating. It’s more in your face and self-aggrandizement. There’s nothing sheepish about it.

“I hope my pride in being Jewish comes through. I mine a lot of the stereotypes of being cheap or having a small penis. Those are jokes that have always been around. I don’t think they’re true, but I try to make them even more grotesque to show how ridiculous they are.”

•On whether his mission is to be funny or break stereotypes: “I want to entertain. I got an e-mail from someone who wanted to convert (to Judaism). That’s not my intention, but that’s nice.”