HERsterical was absolutely histerical!
The comedy show HERsterical kicked off the New York Comedy Festival with a bang. The show was hosted by Christina Cote, who is an actor, writer, producer, and the creator of HERsterical. This was her second time hosting an event for New York Comedy Festival, and the fact that this show was playing at the infamous Caroline’s on Broadway made it even more special. The proceeds for the show went to Gilda’s Club. Christina kicked off the evening with her own personal take on the Ebola epidemic, saying that it isn’t too bad. She feels like the worst part of having this virus is that when people find out she has it, her whereabouts will be tracked, and people will know just how much of a loser she really is. That fear, obviously, is completely rational and is something everyone has, and this set of jokes was a great way to get the night started.
The first comedian on the lineup was Helen Hong who has appeared on many productions such as “The Arsenio Hall Show.” Right off the gate, she got the audience laughing by describing how hard it is to get dates with such a “boring” name like Helen. It has gotten so bad for her that she has resorted to online dating. But she isn’t just on one online dating site. No, she is on all of them going from Christian Mingle to Tinder to even BlackPeopleMeet.com. That in itself takes a lot of dedication and humility to know that you are that desperate. Some of her final jokes were about her being Korean is such a struggle and how she needs to find a suitable man to marry i.e a Korean doctor. Throughout her set she had people laughing and she is a comic that people should look out for.
Next on the list was comedian Sabrina Jalees who has appeared on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” She started off doing some crowd work, which was very successful especially because she had this sort of thuggish persona going on. She was a little loud but that only helped her set because the crowd loved every bit of her. One of the jokes that she told that night was how hard it is being a lesbian and wanting a baby. From the fact that not too much can be said about her set because it was a little raunchy, just know that this woman is the next big thing.
After Sabrina, was comedian Aparna Nacherla who has performed on shows like “Conan.” Although she may be small in physique, her jokes packed a punch and had people laughing like crazy. She kept it as real as possible, describing things she has noticed while living in New York City. Everyone could relate. The truest thing she said that night is that the city is constantly testing your will to exist, just seeing how long it will take until you break down. For people from New York, truer words have never been said. The most memorable joke that she had that night was her inventing a game after seeing a pile of dog poop with a used condom on top and the game is called, ‘Too Much Information? Or Too Little Information?’ which is a game most people play while they are in the city.
The next comics on the stage were a musical group known as “Fantasy Grandma.” What is great about them is that the two members, Myrtle J and Jane B met at the Silent View Home for the Elderly where they have then started to make raps and songs for all of their grand babies. These grandmas have a sick flow and know how to go into a track, and surprisingly, have a better feel for rap music than some of the emcees in the rap game today. These ladies performed some of their songs like “Fantasy Grandma,” “All Right,” and their unplugged song, “Visit Me.” These ladies give you the inside scoop of what it is like inside the mind of a grandma and after seeing them perform, people laughed but also had a dying urge to visit their grandparents and teach them how to rap, too. Maybe someday everybody’s grandparents can participate in the Rap Olympics.
Bonnie McFarlane was up after and she had a lot to say ranging from things like doing charity work with the homeless to what it is like being a hardcore feminist. Whatever she talked about, she was able to make it funny, which is something a lot of comics strive to do. She tackled serious topics like having mental illnesses and dealing with them as well as having the absolute worst childhood. Whatever came out of her mouth was comedy genius and she is another person who people should look out for.
Kate McKinnon, current cast member of SNL, and one of the main performers for the night came up next. If you don’t know who Kate is, well then, you need to get out more and not live under the rock you are currently living under. Kate has this somewhat awkward but infectious personality where you can’t help but to fall in love with her. She talked about life as a hypochondriac and the struggles of always thinking that she has some sort of disease. She also talked about living in New York City and how everyday she somehow manages to get into a fight with someone, which is probably the most New York you can possibly get. Kate’s jokes pack a big punch and had people laughing like crazy.
Kate McKinnon said she didn’t want to perform last because that meant following her newest colleague Leslie Jones. Once Leslie came on stage, it was obvious why Kate wanted to perform before her. Leslie was loud, in charge, and hilarious. She may have yelled at the audience several times, and the word several in this case means around 50 times, she made everything she said extremely funny. She has a strong personality and similarly had some big things to say, one of which is how compared to white people in L.A. people in NYC scare her. She says the white people here are too tough and that she can’t handle it. One of her best jokes of the night was how she just hates New York City because there is so much walking involved. If it were up to her, people would just come and carry her to the places she needs to be. Overall, Leslie killed it, and was one of the highlights of the entire night.
In conclusion, HERsterical was a great showcase of female comics. To succeed in comedy you have to be extremely talented and funny.
-Vinesh Vora
