Jerry Seinfeld @ Beacon Theatre (January 10, 2026)

 

Jerry said that he was fine with phones at the show

Fran got us tickets to see a Seinfeld stand-up act as a Christmas present - she thought that it would be cool to see one of the icons of the genre. She wasn't wrong.

It wasn't the best stand-up show that I've seen, but it was also far from the worst. Notable points... He was (to me) surprisingly animated onstage for a 71 year old - glad to see that he's still got that. He also did some wordplay jokes a few times during the set - I forgot that was a thing that he does. The coolest part was that for an encore he took questions from the crowd for about 5 minutes - something that he apparently does quite frequently (even between shows like on this night - we saw the 5pm show, getting out a little before 7pm, and there was an 8pm show).

Louis CK @ Kings Theatre (November 22, 2025)

I was a bit surprised when I heard about this tour, as Louis had been cancelled for sexual misconduct many years ago. But it didn't deter me from wanting to see the show. Fran didn't know what she was getting into when she agreed to accompany me to the show (she had never heard of him before), and was reminded earlier that day by her brother about Louis' past. All that being said, it turned out to be an absolutely hilarious performance.

This was the first time I had seen Louis live. I wasn't sure whether to expect any sort of change in his style or content post-cancellation, and as far as I could tell there wasn't really any. He didn't address his misconduct in the material, nor do I think he needed to (as an aside, I later found out that he had previously put out a bunch of other material after the cancellation, so this wasn't really a comeback, even though it was his biggest tour since then). While definitely on the raunchier side, he has a rare ability to combine solid material at different philosophical levels. One minute he's joking about farts, another about satisfaction in life, and then later about pedophilia. And all the while leaving us all in stitches.

He had a couple of openers, whose names I can't remember or find at the moment. The first was a woman who wasn't very funny. The second was a Norwegian guy who played the awkward shtick to near perfection - I later found out that his name was Daniel Simonsen.

Mike Birbiglia @ Beacon Theatre (June 9, 2024)

This was the first time that we had seen Mike live (unlike the last two times) where it wasn't a residency sort of deal. And he brought this up during the show, commenting that some people prefer the early shows on his tours where the material is more fresh and exciting (though this has the potential downside of not being as refined). The show was billed as "One Night Only" with the title "Please Stop the Ride" - I still don't quite get that title after seeing the show, but whatever.

Since it was a tour show, he had an opening act - two in fact. First was Gary Simons, then Atsuko Okatsuka. They were both pretty decent - definitely better than the opener for Anthony Jeselnik last time out.

Neither, of course, was nearly as funny as Mike. This show was centered around his dad recently having a stroke, and also teaching his now 9-year-old daughter, Una, lessons about the good life while himself not having answers to many of the big questions. As alluded to before, it was a bit more freewheeling than his polished residency performances (with perhaps a couple of reused bits from prior releases), and he also threw in little material for the locals (as he has lived in Brooklyn for many years now). We both really enjoyed the show, and Fran laughed so hard for so long that she was crying a little bit. Mike is still at the top of his game, delivering a mix of storytelling, jokes, and life lessons in his trademark style. I look forward to seeing how the refined product turns out in the special.

Anthony Jeselnik: Bones and All @ Beacon Theatre (March 23, 2024)

Anthony Jeselnik is not for everyone. But if you appreciate his style, he's good at what he does. The only person in my NYC circle who appreciates (or at least can put up with) his style is apparently my father-in-law, Tommy.

The opener was some fast-talking lady (I forget her name), who was alright. You can imagine that her act was a bit crass, considering who she was opening up for.

Anthony's act was maybe about an hour and change (Tommy expected longer), and the material was about what you would expect from him - misdirection and one-liners. Some "targets" this time around included trans people, pregnant women, and children. He had me cringing a couple of times, when I wasn't sure if he was still on the line or a little bit over it. But you just have to remember that they are just jokes, and then you can appreciate the humor. He even had a bit where he explains his style as "gallows humor", in the process of setting up another killer joke.

All in all an enjoyable show. I can see this being another Netflix special.

Ramy Youssef: More Feelings @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (December 8, 2023)

For the second straight year, Franny surprised me with tickets to a comedy show for my birthday. And once again the show was straight fire. This time it was to see Ramy Youssef, whose TV show Ramy we had enjoyed together. This show/tour, "More Feelings" was a follow-up to his first comedy special "Feelings" (which neither of us had seen until after we saw this show). Like the TV show, the comedy show centered around his experience as an Arab American and practicing Muslim. The recent war between Israel and Hamas provided further inspiration for the new material. As I mentioned before, the show was great; his jokes were funny, and he has mastered his style of delivery even more since the first special.

A couple of additional noteworthy tidbits... His disabled friend Steve, whom we knew from a recurring appearance on the TV show, was the opening act - a pleasant surprise for us. There was also a point during Steve's act where he was describing the concept of "inspiration porn" from a disabled perspective, and asked for audience members to yell out someone who inspires them. On the second asking Fran shouted "my husband", to which I was immediately embarrassed (kinda like when she tries to start the clap after a plane lands). Thankfully Steve's on-stage reply of "Somebody hasn't been f*cked in a while" helped relieve the awkwardness. 😅

Lastly, this performance was a no-phones show (they locked up audience member phones in little bags that they unlocked afterward), so I didn't get a picture.

Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool @ Vivian Beaumont Theater (December 10, 2022)

Fran's main birthday gift to me this year was a joint celebration by going to see one of our favorite comedians, Mike Birbiglia (or Mikey B, as we call him), in his new comedy show. The show is currently in the middle of a two month run at the Lincoln Center. His last show "The New One" (which was on Broadway for a few months) centered on his experience becoming a new father. I won't give too much away, but this one continues with themes of family, health, and death. I would highly recommend it if you are a fan of Mikey B's previous work.

Mike Birbiglia's The New One @ Cort Theatre (1/12/2019)

Mike Birbiglia's new comedy special has a 3+ month long stint on Broadway - a pretty amazing accomplishment.  And I think the show is deserving of it.  I didn't know anything about the show going into it, and I'm not sure if that made it fresher or not.  You can read reviews about it online (e.g., this one) if you want to know more, but that may (or may not) spoil a couple of the surprises.  I'll just say that Mike really hits his stride doing his trademark autobiographical story-telling with plenty of funny anecdotes and a couple of profound moments mixed in.  I really enjoyed it, and Fran was in stitches the whole time.