Vir Das: Hey Stranger (2025) (Off-Broadway)

Lincoln Center Theater is doing a cool comedy series in the Claire Tow Theater upstairs, an intimate 100-seater room. I brought my favorite Indian-American comic Vivek to see the most famous Indian comic Vir Das do a 90-minute set. Das has a western sensibility, in both his references and in his comedic style. I don't know if his stand-up, which is quite open and vulnerable in the style of modern American Netflix specials, really translates to an Indian audience but I think he's primarily performing for us. Which makes his set all the more poignant, about belonging in America, and his pivotal decision about whether to move back here. It perhaps most reminded me of the kind of quiet sincerity that Hasan Minhaj hits you with in his specials to get a more emotional response out of the audience. And I think it largely works, especially in the confines of a small space. 

We went on Linctix night, which included snacks and drinks after the show. I don't know why we've not gone to that more often. Great perk. 

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-23)

At the best of times, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was the funniest show on TV.  I think Amy Sherman-Palladino was well aware of the criticism often levied against it by the New York Jewish viewers. It leaned heavily into Jewish stereotypes, and as the show progressed, it got more and more extreme. She said yes and doubled the ante. The parents were especially overbearing. But they were such genuine characters. And they were hilarious. It's a supremely winning cast.

The final season takes a daring narrative turn. We see several flash forwards, showing us where the characters end up. The rest of the season fills in the gaps to show us how they got there. Similar to Insecure, we see how a tight friendship dissolves. The ending has 3 endings: a televised set, a flashback to a restaurant scene with Luke Kirby, and a flash forward to Midge and Susie. The last one was sweet but I think I could've done without it. It might've been more poignant to end on Wo Hop. Luke Kirby tenderly played Lenny Bruce, a real life legendary comedian. There is a beautiful scene in which he performs All Alone on the Steve Allen show, word for word, beat for beat. It's funny and sad and poignant and perfect. I know Midge and Susie's relationship is the heart of the show, but Lenny is the real history behind the show. It gives the show some more heft above a standard comedy.

The look of the show was gorgeous. The costumes and set design transport you to the glamour of the 60s. It filled that Mad Men sized hole on television. The music drops too were very well done. I think the best arc on the series was when they went to the Catskills, aka the Borscht Belt. Takes you back to Nevele.

Ellen Degeneres: Relatable (2018)

Ellen is back doing stand-up after fifteen years. The premise of her special is that after becoming so successful, she is still a relatable person. The most relatable thing she says is her explanation for returning to stand-up. She obviously doesn't need the money. It is simply that she loves it and misses it. You can see how much fun she's having. Stylistically, her set reminded me of Seinfeld, with simple observations made funny. She pauses quite a bit with good comedic timing. She's not particularly cutting edge, but she's silly and funny as always.

Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia (2018)

Trevor Noah is very good. For his latest comedy special, he takes us to his childhood. Noah grew up in South Africa.. A biracial man, Noah's very existence was illegal under the Apartheid regime. He manages to be poignant and funny. My favorite thing about Trevor Noah has always been his voices. They're not necessarily impressions, but he does a real good French accent. And his white man voice gets me every time.

Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife (2018)

Ali Wong really nails the delivery of her jokes. She has good timing, and has perfected the tone. There is a good balance of yelling and soft, but firm, deliberate, slow explanations mixed with physical reenactment. She is visibly pregnant with her second child now.--that's two specials filmed pregnant in a row She is radiant on stage, it's where she belongs. Let's hope she continues to represents Asians in comedy.

Fred Armisen: Standup for Drummers (2018)

Only Fred Armisen could make this work. It's probably the most niche standup show I've ever seen. The title is quite literal. These bits are made by a drummer for drummers. And they're not naturally funny bits, but he makes them funny because he's so awkward and self aware. He somehow makes these drumming bits accessible to non-drummers too, making me smirk and smile at his short seconds long impressions that I have no particular references for. He does a bit going through accents across America, just words, hardly a full phrase per accent, but he's just so strange that he's funny.

Hannah Gadsby: Nanette (2018)

Hannah Gadsby's latest stand-up special is a misnomer in every sense. The title Nanette was decided on before she determined what she'd discuss. And on top of that, stand-up isn't really accurate either. It's more like an open mic in which we listen to her musings, her rants, and incisive truth bombs. It's often not even comedy. Her art history bit is straight brilliance. She approaches comedy and our modern world from a very intellectual place. It's well thought out. I really had to focus to follow her Australian accent. But it really forced me to concentrate on what she was saying, and it's deep. She's leaving comedy because she can't take it anymore. It makes you truly feel for her until you remember that we're living in the same world and you start to feel bad for everybody. The cynics are right, our society is awful.

Tig Notaro: Happy to Be Here (2018)

You know I love Tig. This is great but I didn't find myself laughing as much as I usually do with her. She is totally the only person who could drag that out for so long and boy does she, but who are the Indigo Girls anyways?

Ali Wong: Baby Cobra (2017)

We had to watch Ali Wong's first Netflix special before we could get to her new one. She is hilarious. We need more Asian Americans in comedy. She offers a refreshing voice and bravely delivers her set 7-months pregnant.

John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous (2018)

I saw John Mulaney perform this set live in Washington DC. The Netflix special is mostly the same, except I don't remember hearing the bit about Leonard Bernstein. In person, I was slightly underwhelmed by the material. It was the second time I had seen John Mulaney, and the first time was fire. John Mulaney is perhaps the most polished of all the stand-ups today. His delivery is non-stop, and exactly the same each iteration, proving how well-rehearsed he is. Rehearsal, of course, is not a bad thing, but perhaps it makes him sound a little less genuine. His performance doesn't have the natural hesitation of normal spoken cadence. He also only has one volume. He yells at the audience for an hour straight. Can a stand-up be too polished?

Chris Rock: Tamborine (2018)

It's nice to have Chris Rock back. He's one of the greats. And he's still got it. The first half is better than the second half. And that's about all I have to say.

Dave Chappelle: Equanimity & The Bird Revelation (2017)

You can tell a master at his craft when it looks effortless.  He's so casual, seated on a stool with an intimate audience. It's not so polished, but he did four full length sets in the year so I'll cut him some slack. Consequently, Chappelle often sounds like he's ad libbing on the spot. I know he's not, but it sounds like such natural story telling. I think The Bird Revelation is a better set than Equanimity. It's not necessarily funnier; both sets have their moments. But The Bird Revelation seems more personal. He tells several stories that are not ostensibly about him. But they have messages that relate to his personal life. He lacks polish, but you can tell that he's trying to say something a little more poignant than usual.

Jerry Before Seinfeld (2017)

If you like Seinfeld, Seinfeld's style of comedy hasn't changed. He tells jokes from his days just starting out as a comedian, and they're in the exact same vein as his more recent stuff. It's clever, and I appreciate clever but I wasn't really laughing out loud. 

Latin History for Morons (Broadway) (2017)

John Leguizamo's newest one-man show transferred to Broadway after a successful run at the Public last year. I was bummed that I missed it off-broadway, but I was glad to get last-minute rush tickets to see it on Broadway. I love John Leguizamo; I think he is a naturally funny guy with terrible handwriting. His show incorporates a lot of physical comedy and impressions, things he has always been very good at. But the genius of the show is its timeliness and the poignancy of the themes he explores. The show really resonated with me. It has a lot of heart. Leguizamo does some deep personal introspection about Latino contributions to the history of America. It's a history that is omitted from our textbooks, but an important one. It is the history of America to oppress minorities, to relegate the other, and to psychologically force minorities to put themselves down. Leguizamo feels like a second class citizen in his own country. And that is a problem, a problem to be addressed, an identity crisis Leguizamo tackles with humor. I cannot stress enough how important it is to understand our heritage to improve ourselves. Our stories do not get publicity, it is in fact hidden from us. Leguizamo luckily does his research. He takes some creative liberty with some of the facts, but it is worthwhile.We need these stories in our culture and art. In this toxic age of Trump, Latin History for Morons is a refreshing breath of empowering air. 

Mike Birbiglia: Thank God for Jokes (2017)

Mike Birbiglia is a pretty funny guy. I was prompted to watch his latest stand up special because Michelle invited me to see him live at the Warner Theater. He's quite good in person. He has very good timing. And his special makes me laugh. He does a bit about being late; the punch line is that there is an infinite amount of time you can be on time, so there is really no excuse to be late (we were almost late, of course). The bit extends the whole set, and he muses that humanity is divided between on-time people and late people. He's a good story teller. And he's quite likable. He's not my favorite, that title belongs to John Mulaney and Tig Notaro, but I'm excited to see what he does next.

Tracy Morgan: Staying Alive (2017)

It's his first comedy special since his accident. But he's still the same old Tracy Morgan. He's very raunchy, he still has his tagline, and he's still pretty funny. He really only does the one thing though. It's a rather repetitive set. He addresses his accident a bit. I think his best joke is when he says he wouldn't have gotten any money if he was hit by a Bob's Discount Furniture truck. It's not that he can't tell a story. It's that you always know where the story is going cause they all end the same way. It's a fun character. Great for something like 30 Rock. And even great in small doses in stand-up as it does run a lean hour. 

Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King (2017)

This might just be the best stand-up set so far this year. It is loads better than Minhaj's uneven White House Correspondent's Dinner set. One of the main reasons is I think he comes off a little awkward is because he doesn't laugh at his own jokes. Maybe only twice in the whole set did he laugh. Is he taking himself a little too seriously? Maybe I've just been watching too much SNL where a little bit of breaking is encouraged. But I think he would benefit from a little bit of laughing.

The set is excellent. It's really poignant, personal, hilariously brilliant and simultaneously touching. He tells stories about the immigrant experience. I love how he breaks into Urdu/Hindi without always bothering to translate. He's really unapologetic about being an immigrant. Why should he be? That's the whole point, isn't it? He is a proud Indian-American. His stories are expertly crafted to bring you up and up and then to take you down with a sad part tinged and then a raucous punch line. And the magic questions that pervade his set: Are we entitled to equality? Is equality a privilege? Is racism the price we pay as immigrants?

Really quickly, I'd like to point out the good camerawork. These stand-up specials usually have pretty standard camerawork but the more emotional moments of his set zoom in pretty close to his face. It's much more intimate than the big room he's actually performing. And in the room itself, great lighting.

Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust (2017)

Sarah Silverman is edgy. And some of the jokes are genuinely funny. Whereas before it was just plain raunchy, she seems to have gotten better. It's not just raunchy anymore. There's more to her storytelling. She crafts her jokes in a more clever way. I think edgy is a better word to describe her comedy now than raunchy. 

Oh, Hello: On Broadway (2017)

It's not going to be everybody's cup of tea, but I love John Mulaney. John Mulaney and Nick Kroll star in this limited engagement run on Broadway as ultimate New Yorkers Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland. They have thick accents, often mispronounce words, and go off on ridiculous tangents. Basically, if you were already aware of them, you are predisposed to like it. But the comedy is very niche. It's not going to attract newcomers. There isn't too much of a story, but just enough to make it funny. They're being evicted from their rent controlled apartment on the Upper West Side. There are tons of insider New York jokes that play to their audience. And they host a show on NY1 called Too Much Tuna, featuring a different celebrity guest each night. Steve Martin was featured in that particular performance and he fit in splendidly. Final verdict: I thought it was funny, but I'm kind of weird.

Dave Chappelle: The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas (2017)

It must be good to be back after so long. After a sure-to-be-Emmy-nominated hosting gig on SNL, Dave Chappelle recorded two stand-up sets for Netflix. I don't think this was as good as the set he did on SNL. That was masterful, timely and piercingly funny. The old master of comedy and the new home for comedy--I think Netflix has securely taken that title from HBO by this point. He's still got it. He is very funny, controversial (definitely not pc) at times, but that's part of why he's so funny. He's not politically incorrect just to be provocative, he has actually put some thought into it. A lot of comedians have tackled Bill Cosby, but Chappelle takes a more nuanced look at who was once a heroic figure for the African American community.  His second special was less funny, 3/5. I don't know, it seems a little lazier to me. It wasn't as poignant or as cutting or as relevant as the first.