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Anne Gelhaus on January 22, 2020
At the ripe old age of 25, Taylor Tomlinson has just started her second decade on the stand-up circuit. And like any good millennial, she’s embracing all the media available to help her along her career path. Besides being featured in shows on Netflix and making it to the Top 10 on…
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Conor Agnew on November 13, 2019
It’s been more than a decade since Doug Benson’s explosive documentary Super High Me first revealed the connection between marijuana and comedy, paving the way for sweeping criminal justice reform and more enlightened drug policy at the national level. Or maybe that’s not what happened; the edibles just kicked in. Anyway, Doug’s…
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Conor Agnew on October 30, 2019
After three months of extensive renovation, downtown’s landmark Jose Theater is finally ready to reopen its doors. In addition to some cosmetic upgrades, the longtime home of the San Jose Improv Comedy Club now features state of the art sound and lighting, and a revamped menu to tickle your taste buds. To…
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Erika Rasmussen on August 7, 2019
Eddie Griffin’s career began with a dare. The 51-year-old comic’s cousin challenged him give standup a try at the Sanford and Sons comedy club in Kansas City. What started as a lark morphed into a 45-minute improv set, and Griffin’s been hooked on the art of cracking wise ever since. The Missouri-raised…
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Erika Rasmussen on July 31, 2019
Arizona-born Iranian American comedian Max Amini knocks improv out of the park, incorporating the audience in essentially every show he does. It seems he’s changing lives, to a certain extent—phoning a husband who stayed home on Valentine’s Day while his wife came to the show and helping attendees find romance—all from the…
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Erika Rasmussen on May 29, 2019
Es tiempo para reírse con El Jaja Tour. Veracruz-born Mexican comedian Luis de Alba, known for his fresa-esque El Pirrurris character—perhaps accurately understood as a trust fund kid thriving on Papi’s money or the Ivy League prep boy—pokes fun at elitist air-headedness and materialism. The Pirrurris often shares his invaluable insight on…
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Metro Staff on May 16, 2019
As a kid, the Hong Kong-born standup comic Jimmy O. Yang says he never really considered a career in show business. As he told Conan O’Brien last summer, “My dad always said pursuing your dreams is how you become homeless.” But after he moved to the U.S. Yang developed an independent streak.…
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Nick Veronin on May 8, 2019
Stand-up comedy may be an American invention, but just as Bollywood has put its own spin on the multiplex blockbuster, the subcontinent has also learned to coax laughs out of a captive audience. Funnyman Vir Das launched his career in India and is now working at crossing over in America. He’s already…
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Nick Veronin on April 4, 2019
With a career spanning three decades, Arsenio Hall needs no introduction. The comedian is best known for hosting The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran from 1989-1994—and was reprised from 2013-2014. The Cleveland-born comic got his start in stand-up in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles, where he made a few appearances on…
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Nick Veronin on March 13, 2019
The Irish don’t need whiskey or stout to cut loose. Turns out the only essential ingredients are a microphone and an audience—and if there are a few tumblers of uisce beatha going around, well… that’s just fine. The Irish Comedy Tour, which stops in San Jose this week, just a few days…
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