Thursday, March 28th | 18 Adar II 5784

Subscribe
June 9, 2023 8:35 am
0

Jewish Comedians Bring ‘Unorthodox’ Comedy to a Synagogue in New York

× [contact-form-7 404 "Not Found"]

avatar by Alan Zeitlin

Opinion

Chani Lisbon. Photo: provided.

Instead of talking about sex, she would use the term “making challah.”

That’s what comic Chani Lisbon told the audience of more than 80 people who came to see “Unorthodox Comedy”  at a Brooklyn synagogue on a recent Monday evening.

“I have not made challah since November, and I’m so hungry,” Lisbon said to applause.

Lisbon explained that she grew up “super-religious” in Los Angeles, and listened to songs by Celine Dion in the closet because her father would have been infuriated if he knew her headphones piped in anything other than Jewish music.

“You would think I was doing drugs in there,” she recalled. “It was insane.”

She recited the Hebrew blessing over water before taking a sip, and announced that she is a recovering alcoholic.

“I got sober in 2007,” Lisbon said in an interview. “The first time I drank to get drunk I had vodka with Sprite. How I got started was I moved from Los Angeles to New York, away from my family, and there was no one on top of me to see what I was doing, so I would drink vodka every day. It was halting my emotional growth.”

She said she was able to work as an office manager in New York’s diamond district, but it felt boring and she had an itch for comedy. She would do improv, but didn’t know if she would be able to make a living as a comedian.

Her recent show, irreverently dubbed “Unorthodox Comedy,” followed five shows she produced at Basil Pizza and Wine Bar, a kosher restaurant in Brooklyn.

On its website, the Prospect Heights Shul, where the show took place, bills itself as “a dynamic and inclusive Modern Orthodox Synagogue where everyone can feel comfortable and valued, regardless of background or level of observance…”

The show included talk of sex and some cursing, but was less risqué than most shows at Manhattan comedy clubs. It was diverse, hilarious, and a show you won’t want to miss when Lisbon hosts it again on June 26.

Several patrons in the crowd sported tattoos. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks were offered, as well as kosher lamb bourekas and olive oil cake. The crowd included Jews of different levels of observance, and a few non-Jews.

The show was hosted by Eitan Levine, who also performed at the event. He stopped his routine to say hello to someone he knew from a Jewish summer camp, and then joked that the baby in the front row should listen to him. A woman actually held up a baby she said was four months old, and the audience cheered.

“That was definitely something I haven’t seen before,” he told me.

Levine, who is a cancer survivor and the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, referenced X-Men and the Jewish character Magneto in his set, and wondered why if superheroes had so many powers, they couldn’t stop the Holocaust.

The show also included comedians who are not Jewish.

“Shows at synagogues typically feature Jewish comedians, but I want to be more inclusive and showcase really different talented comedians that I work with,” Lisbon said.

For a time, Libson struggled with alopecia, but one could not tell by looking at her during the set, as her hair has grown back.

She joked to the crowd that there were moments in life where she was hungry and needed protein.

“Usually, I carry chicken cutlets in my bra,” she quipped.

The author is a writer based in New York.

The opinions presented by Algemeiner bloggers are solely theirs and do not represent those of The Algemeiner, its publishers or editors. If you would like to share your views with a blog post on The Algemeiner, please be in touch through our Contact page.

Share this Story: Share On Facebook Share On Twitter

Let your voice be heard!

Join the Algemeiner

Algemeiner.com

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.