Jamie Pierce will host Theatrical Hysterics, an evening of gay stand-up comedy.
By Brandon Voss
No joke: On Wednesday, March 9, at Feinstein’s/54 Below, Jamie Pierce will host Theatrical Hysterics, an evening of stand-up comedy featuring fellow gay comics Jim David, Rick Crom, and Kevin Meaney. Pierce gives us a preview and a few punchlines.
Next: What happens when you get four gay comedians together in one room?
Jamie Pierce: We talk about Joan Rivers. While giving each other oil massages. Seriously, it’s always great to get together with fellow gay comics to talk shop and share war stories. Often you're the token gay on a given show, so it’s nice to take over the mic for a night. I also feel that the gay male comedian is an underrepresented demographic on the mainstream comedy landscape. So I’m proud to be offering an evening that showcases some of the best in the business.
Considering it’s an all-gay lineup, which topics that you can pretty much guarantee will be tackled at Theatrical Hysterics?
Not only are we all gay but we’re all a bunch of show queens who happen to be performing on the same stage as Patti LuPone underneath Liza's former disco palace of Studio 54. I’ll be surprised if we can talk about anything else.
If you were single and Jim David, Rick Crom, and Kevin Meaney were the last three guys on Grindr… how would that night end?
With a Sondheim medley sung in four-part harmony.
We live in very P.C. times when even comedians can be forced to apologize for a controversial joke. But can a gay comedian pretty much get away with saying anything?
That’s an interesting question. Many gay comedians deliver outrageous material, but rarely is it offensive to others since it’s often self-directed — we’re all narcissists. Of course, there are people who are offended simply by the notion of a gay person speaking frankly about their life. But unless the audience is filled with Tea Party members, I think we’ll be alright.
Have you ever apologized for a joke?
I’ve apologized to my mother. I’m somewhat of a prude so I rarely work “blue," as we say in the biz. But on the rare occasion I tell an unsavory joke or reference my sex life, I always cringe thinking my mother is now picturing it. Although I’ve been married for almost 10 years now, so material related to my sex life is dwindling resource.
Next, March 2016.