THURSDAY
(image via LAWL / Eventbrite)
LAWL
Thursday, May 25 at New Women Space, 7 pm: $5
It is good to laugh, and there are allegedly real scientific statistics to back up such a claim. In fact, I just found something literally called the Laugher Online University, and you know what, I have a lot of questions about it. But why spend your time on weird websites when you can venture into the real world and get some actual laughter?
You’re in luck— Thursday night is LAWL (Ladies and Womyn Laughing), Arti Gollapudi’s comedy night showcasing women, trans, and gender non-conforming funny folk. Gollapudi is no stranger to curating spaces prioritizing these groups, as she is also a co-founder of the Comedy Cunt Collective. Tonight at LAWL, you can see jokes n’ silly stories by Sue Smith, Shannon Odell, and Wanjiko Eke. And if I’ve made you too curious about this University of Laughter, you can always just look it up on your phone in between acts or something.
FRIDAY
(image via Taylor Edelhart / Facebook)
SWIFT (or Miss Ohio)
May 26-28 at Chinatown Soup, 8 pm: $13 suggested donation
It is generally agreed-upon that “Taylor” is not an exceedingly rare name. There are many Taylors, and there shall be more as time progresses. But it is exceedingly rare that they all converge into one body, as is the case in Taylor Edelhart’s new one-person show SWIFT (or Miss Ohio). Yes, the title is referring to that “Swift,” and the show is about, among other things, what it is like to be named Taylor and realize you are in the body of a very different, very much more famous Taylor.
I have gotten the chance to see a small portion of this show, as Taylor workshopped a section at my show Am I Write, Ladies? last year. It was good, and I can only assume the entire show will also be good. But you’ll have to attend to find out! Maybe you’ll get some sort of special prize if your name is also Taylor.
SATURDAY
(image via Vital Joint / Facebook)
Sloop Jumbly
Saturday, May 27 at Vital Joint, 8 pm: $25
What is a Sloop and why is it Jumbly? These are answers you will most likely not find at the latest edition of this bizarro comedy/variety show hosted by Lorelei Ramirez, Peter Mills Weiss, and Tim Platt. But what you will not find in title-related clarity you will instead reap in the form of curious characters and memorable performances.
Gracing the lineup this time will be Cole Escola, Jennifer Vanilla, Karolena Theresa, and Moreno Monolo. Almost all of these people have last names that end in an “a.” What does it mean?
SUNDAY
(flyer via Ticketfly)
Just A Show
Sunday, May 28 at Sunnyvale, 5:30 pm: $6
It’s Memorial Day weekend! Flock to the park, put on a tank top, and fire up that grill. Well, maybe you don’t want to. Maybe you’re not into crowds, hot dogs scare you, or you forgot to buy sunscreen and are afraid of turning into a lobster from prolonged outdoor exposure. Well, my friends, you have options. What if you want to just, say, see a show? That you can do, at the aptly-titled Just A Show, happening at Sunnyvale, which is the most the appropriately-named venue you can attend in lieu of spending time without a roof over your head.
Just A Show is a comedy show hosted by Harris Mayersohn, and this is the latest edition of the show’s “Just A Joe” residency, featuring the one and only Joe Pera. If you haven’t yet seen Joe do his thing, it is highly recommended. The rest of the lineup isn’t too shabby, either, with the darkly compelling group Three Busy Debras, Conner O’Malley, Wanjiko Eke, and Kenny DeForest.
