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John Mulaney, Conan O'Brien, Wanda Sykes among headliners at New York Comedy Fest
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 16, 2022
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Diane Bondareff for NYCF
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 16, 2022
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John Mulaney, Conan O'Brien, Tracy Morgan, Jenny Slate, and Wanda Sykes are among the headliners who have been announced for the The New York Comedy Festival 2022.
The 18th iteration of the comedy fest will take place from November 7th-13th at venues across New York City, including the Beacon Theatre, Carolines on Broadway, Madison Square Garden, and Town Hall. And it will come for the first time to UBS Arena at Belmont Park on Long Island, where Mulaney will perform on November 11th.
Other headliners include Mo Amer, Shane Gillis, Jo Koy, Bill Maher, Nurse Blake, Ms. Pat, J.B. Smoove, Jimmy O. Yang, and Bassem Youssef. Altogether, over 200 comedians will be announced for the festival, with updates anticipated in the coming weeks.
"Laughter is everything, and there's been nothing funny about the last two-and-a-half years that has devastated us," Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday morning during a press conference at the Hard Rock Hotel New York in Times Square.
Adams praised the therapeutic power of laughter and the way comedy shows can offer people perspective on their lives.
"Comedy brings us together, it allows us to look to the right of each other and the left of each other, and watch each other smile and laugh," he said. "That's what's great about New York: a diverse group of people from all over the globe are coming together to celebrate the beauty of our diversity and especially of our city. If New York laughs, it cascades across the entire country, and the country laughs. And then we will turn around the devastating impact of the sadness that accompanied us during COVID."
Adams was joined for the announcement by Caroline Hirsch, the founder of the New York Comedy Festival and Carolines on Broadway; Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company; and Karin Kopano, managing director of Hard Rock International.
Hirsch said that this year's festival will have more comedians, more venues, and more acts than ever before, and noted that today's announcement fell on National Tell A Joke Day.
"If there was ever a day we need now more than ever, it's a day that embraces comedy, the art of making one laugh," she said. "So why just have one National Tell A Joke Day? The New York Comedy Festival will celebrate seven days of laughter with over 20 venues in all five boroughs this year."
Originally launched in 2004 by Hirsch, the New York Comedy Festival offers comedians the chance to perform at a variety of different venues during a weeklong period in the fall. It was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic, but returned last year with headliners including Marc Maron, Michelle Wolf, Norm MacDonald, Meg Stalter, and Nick Kroll.
The festival has been criticized over the years for a lack of female headliners. In 2010, the festival had no female comedians, but organizers have since made more of a concentrated effort to include female voices. Even so, the festival has only had about three or four female comedian headliners (out of 12-17 headliners, depending on the year) over the last eight festivals. Continuing that trend this year, only three out of the 12 headliners are female.
Tickets for this year's festival will go on sale on August 19th, but Citi cardmembers can access presale tickets now. Get more ticket information here.
Tagged
tracy morgan
john mulaney
conan o'brien
new york comedy festival
Mayor Eric Adams
nycf
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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