Stand-up comedian Wendy Liebman keeps laughs coming

Stand-up comedian Wendy Liebman speaks softly but delivers a one-two punch(line) on stage.

It’s more like a four-part punchline, though. Liebman reels off one-liners, waits a beat, then follows up a punchline to a single joke with another one-liner, then another and so forth.

It’s a habit Liebman developed when she first started off as a comedian in mid-’80s Boston.

“You learn from other people,” she said. “I keep adding things. It’s a defense mechanism.”

A cerebral, thoughtful Liebman spoke by phone from her home in the West Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles in advance of her shows on Oahu and Maui this weekend. The shows mark the third and fourth times Liebman will have performed in Hawaii, having been in the islands previously for a show at the now-defunct Pipeline Cafe and a private show for HBO.

Although she’s had “a lot of success,” she said, “I’m still figuring out my voice. There’s always changes.”

Liebman has appeared on HBO, Showtime and talk shows such as “The Tonight Show,” “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” “The Late Show With David Letterman” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” She first became interested in comedy as a young kid, staying up late one night to watch an evening talk show on which Phyllis Diller was a guest.

“Diller was being interviewed, and she said, ‘Just after you hit them with a joke, hit them again,’” remembered Liebman.

She comes from the Steven Wright style of performance: Jokes are delivered in a deadpan voice, in a dry, wry manner. She considers it an honor to be compared to one of America’s most established comedians.

“I remember watching him on a black-and-white TV in college,” said Liebman. “I got to meet him. He gave me advice on ‘The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson’: Just tell jokes for that audience (in the room), not the TV audience.”

Favorite comedians of Liebman’s include such other notable names in current-day comedy as Brian Regan, Jake Johannsen and Sarah Silverman.

“The list goes on and on,” said Liebman.

Amy Schumer was another name that came up in conversation with Liebman. Schumer was accused of stealing jokes from Liebman and fellow comedians Tammy Pescatelli and Kathleen Madigan, and using the jokes in an HBO special earlier this year. Liebman, Pescatelli and Madigan had tweeted about the situation but later chose to delete the comments from social media.

Schumer has since apologized to Liebman for the joke Schumer made during the HBO show, which closely resembled a joke Liebman had written more than two decades ago: “I’m old-fashioned. On a date I like it when the man pays. For sex.”

Liebman had this to say about the situation: “She apologized when she heard about it; she could make it right, so she made it right. It was parallel thinking. I wouldn’t have said anything, but there are other similarities in jokes.

“It’s kind of a hot-button issue in comedy. We all police each other. There will be coincidences; I remain a huge fan.”

Liebman’s also surrounded in her off-hours by family members who work in the entertainment business.

Her husband, Jeff Sherman, was a writer and producer of the popular ’90s TV series “Boy Meets World.” Her late father-in-law Robert Sherman created music for Disney classics such as “The Jungle Book” and “Mary Poppins.”

One of her two stepsons, Alex Sherman, plays music for a show she produces, “Locally Grown Comedy” at the E-Spot Lounge at Vitello’s Restaurant in L.A.’s Studio City neighborhood, which is about 20 miles away from her home.

Comedians George Lopez and Arsenio Hall have been guests on “Locally Grown Comedy.”

“It’s usually sold out,” said Liebman. “It’s low-key.”

On the day that Liebman did her interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Vicki Peterson of the band the Bangles was set to appear, and actress Kristin Chenoweth was expected to be in the audience. (Chenoweth, a friend of Liebman’s, is working on an animated musical with Liebman’s husband.)

Liebman also is writing a play with her husband called “Home on Tuesdays.” It’s about three stand-up comedians who perform over one Valentine’s Day weekend in Las Vegas.

The play’s title comes from the notion that most comedians are at home on Tuesdays after performing over the weekend, explained Liebman.

“In my heart I am a writer and musician,” Liebman said. On stage, however, she said, “I like to talk about my husband, life in general and J.J., my rescue dog. He’s just a bundle of joy.”