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Thanks for subscribing. Each week, I send out an email with something I think is great, something that made me laugh, and something interesting. If you feel like you haven't gotten these in a while, try checking to make sure this email is a trusted address so they aren't getting filtered to spam. Feel free to spread the word and share these with friends. Anyone can sign up for the mailing list online and/or check out the archive with all past emails here.
Live shows
NEW YORK:
Wednesday, May 4th at 7:00 p.m. It's the Sensible Show. Standup comedy at the Annoyance Theatre. This week, Josh Gondelman and I are hosting and we've got jokes from Mark Normand, Halle Kiefer, Josh Rabinowitz, and Chris Thayer. Link
Monday, May 16 at 10 p.m at The Stand. This is the final callbacks for the Montreal Just For Laugh's New Faces Showcase. It'll be NYC's best young standups all doing their best material. Tickets on sale soon.
Wednesday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m at Carolines. The hilarious Josh Gondelman is headlining Carolines and he asked me to do a set on the show too. It's my first time performing at this legendary venue and I'm really excited. Also Josh is the best/funniest. Link
BOSTON:
Wednesday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Davis Square Theatre. You're the Expert is back in Boston for a special taping featuring Eugene Mirman. This show will definitely sell out so get tickets soon if you want to come. Link
You can always find my most up-to-date show schedule online here.
This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
Jon Stewart is the executive producer of After Spring, a new documentary about a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. I got tickets to a screening this past weekend and it's an amazing film. As you might expect, there's suffering and heartbreak, but the filmmakers also captured beautiful moments of joy and hope, especially in a group of young kids learning Taekwondo and a pizza maker who built a new shop from scratch in desert. More than anything, it was a powerful reminder that behind the headlines are real people, unfairly caught up in the biggest refugee crisis since WWII. After Spring is currently only screening at film festivals, but hopefully it'll find broader distribution soon. After Spring (h/t Mark Doss)
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
I am obsessed with The Great British Baking Show. If you haven't seen it, it's kind of like ifAntiques Roadshow took place in a tent in England and instead of finding out how much their family heirlooms are worth, people found out if they're any good at making croissants. The stakes are incredibly low, the people are very ordinary, and really the only thing they do is bake. Yet, somehow, it's utterly charming and my favorite thing to watch. If you're having a bad day or feeling depressed about the state of the world, I guarantee you that queuing an episode of this up on Netflix will inject joy deep into your brain. If you're still not convinced, read this hilarious (and foul-mouthed) explanation of the show in GQ by Freddie Campion: The Great British Bake Off Explained
(Sidenote: This article reveals who wins Season 3 of the show, but that's not a season that's available in the US, so it didn't feel like much of a spoiler to me. But now you've been warned!)
1 Interesting Thing:
Jenna Cook is an American woman who was adopted from China when she was a baby. When Jenna was 20 years old, a junior at Yale, she returned to China with her adoptive mom, a white lady from Massachusetts, to search for the birth mother who had left her on a street corner in Wuhan. Jenna's story struck a deep emotional chord in China and went viral. Her search tapped into the many conflicting emotions around adoption, China's government policies, and the country's place in the world. It's an amazing story and one that I imagine will resonate with many of the people I know who have adopted members of their families. A "Lost" Daughter Speaks, And All of China Listens
Ok, thanks for reading! More details on shows and my full schedule online at www.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/
Have a great weekend,
Chris