Scott Nevins offers Recession Rx

Looking over his resume, which includes gigs as a director, actor, celebrity interviewer, radio/television host, comedian and all-around personality, you begin to wonder if Scott Nevins has a career master plan for entertainment world domination, or just a serious case of ADD. "Definitely severe ADD," laughs Nevins, who will be offering two late-night servings of Rece$$ioni$ta: Cheaper Than a Tank of Gas, his latest set of comedy musings, at the Rrazz Room this weekend.

The poster for Celebutant, his first show, posed the question: "Don't you know who (I think) I am?" Nevins has an answer. "I'm a chameleon," he says. "I do a bunch of different stuff, and I've been lucky enough to be successful at all of them. Right now, the real focus - my main job - is as radio/television host and personality, and from that has come the opportunity to do these live comedy shows. To be clear, I've never really considered myself a comedian. People who do have spent their whole lives perfecting their craft. I was just building my [hosting] career, then I was invited to perform at Caroline's On Broadway as a headliner. I had never set foot in a comedy club before. So I've been very blessed."

Lean and model-pretty, Nevins has a sprinting conversational style, punctuated with self-deprecating barbs. "You mean my Streisand nose?" he cracks at a compliment on a photo. For the last seven years he's been carving out a media niche for himself that continues to evolve. "A lot of people still don't know what to make of me," he says, "especially gay men, because I'm a guy, but I'm not in drag, I'm not singing, and I'm not stripping! There seems to be an issue with gay men supporting other gay men. I've had guys come up to me after a show and say, 'I didn't want to like you or your show because I think you're hot, and you're funny.' As if those two things just don't go together?"

Further breaking down his credits, Nevins says, "I'm not an actor. When I go out on a stage, it's just me. I've been told by some really great actors like Sir Ian McKellen that doing that is frankly harder because you have no character to hide behind. It's a scary tightrope act to put yourself out there and say, 'This is me. If you don't like me, oh well! I just started to like myself a few years ago, so if you need time to catch up, that's fine!' I'm the original low-self-esteem guy. I don't think I'm good-looking, and I second-guess myself all the time. I think part of the reason people like my act is because while I'm poking fun at celebrities and my family, I'm poking fun at myself just as much, if not more."

For Nevins, liking people has been core to his success as an interviewer. "I always come from the point of view of a fan." He has racked up cozy chats with Liza Minnelli, RuPaul, Susan Lucci and Tammy Faye Messner-Bakker. "I don't get star-struck, so I can keep the conversation on an even keel. Honesty is the key. If you really love what that person does, you don't even need to make notes. You just talk with them about what they do and what makes them special. Also, don't talk about them all the time. Find common ground that has nothing to do with them specifically. It's like meeting a person at a party and searching for those three opening topics to start the conversation. I learned that by watching folks like Rosie O'Donnell and Jack Paar, the original host of The Tonight Show."

Always outspoken and always out, Nevins never considered the closet as a career-enhancer. "Being out has hurt some people's careers, and others have survived and even thrived. Ellen [DeGeneres] had years where she couldn't get work. Look at her now! Sometimes a woman will come up to me after a show and ask if I'm single - which I am - and she'll tell me about this great girl she knows. My response is always, 'Well, I hope she has a brother!'"

For his shows this weekend, Nevins promises some great stories, including his experience being a judge at the Miss Kentucky Pageant, and an Oscar-night bathroom encounter with Zac Efron! "We are in a recession," he says, noting that he cut ticket prices for his shows. "Laughter may be the best medicine, but it also has to be affordable!"

Scott Nevins in Rece$$ioni$ta at the Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko. Fri. & Sat., April 3-4, at 10:30 p.m. Tickets ($30): (866) 468-3399 or www.therrazzroom.com.