Josh Orlian has been invited back to “America’s Got Talent.” But can the kippah-wearing 12-year-old (not the show’s first young Orthodox contestant, by the way) come back to shul?
Orlian, an aspiring stand-up comedian from White Plains, N.Y., auditioned last night on the televised talent show with a routine the judges described as “naughty.”
It apparently was his first appearance before an audience other than his family or friends, and the jokes were surprisingly risque for a Modern Orthodox day school student, including innuendoes about testicles, penis length and even fellatio. (Orlian said that after attending circus camp, he wanted to learn “sword swallowing,” but his mother objected. To which, he said, his father replied: “I’m not surprised. Your mother hasn’t been interested in sword-swallowing since we got engaged.”)
The judges — Howard Stern, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Mel B. (the Spice Girl) — invited him back to the next level. “You’re 12 years old and you’re talking about all that dirty stuff. I like it!” Mel B. said.
“If nothing else you’ve got a great piece of tape for your [bar mitzvah] reception,” Mandel said, offering a “mazel tov” with his decision to vote in favor of sending Orlian to the next level.
Here’s a clip:
