Comedy Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

An interview with pianist and comedian Sarah Hagen

By Steve Reeder February 5, 2024

Classical music can have a reputation of being all too serious. But not in the hands of Sarah Hagen. Part piano recital, part comedy show, “Perk Up Pianist!” pairs anecdotes and stories with pieces by Chopin, Debussy, and Liszt. NWPB’s Steve Reeder spoke with Hagen.Read More

Comedian Paula Poundstone talks the importance of librarians and how to ‘Get back to being human’

By Thom Kokenge July 26, 2023

We heard a rumor that Paula Poundstone was heading to our neck of the woods, so NWPB's Thom Kokenge caught up with her to find out what she's up to. Read More

Shakespeare In The Park: As You Like It

By Dori Luzzo Gilmour August 13, 2022

Listen (Runtime 1:06) Read The long tradition of watching The Bard’s tales in the outdoors returns in August to two locations in Eastern Washington. Shakespeare In The Park by The […]Read More

‘I Just Followed My Interests’: Garry Trudeau On 50 Years Of ‘Doonesbury’

By NPR News January 14, 2021

Garry Trudeau is shown at his office on Dec. 22, 1972. AP

The ground-breaking comic strip Doonesbury has been with us for a half-century. It was the first daily comic strip to win a Pulitzer Prize for tackling social issues, politics and war. It's also been censored for some of those same reasons.Read More

TV REVIEW: Hysterical And Historical ‘Comedy Store’ Takes You Inside The LA Stand-Up Scene

By NPR News October 2, 2020

Showtime's series, The Comedy Store, is more than just a history of the Sunset Strip club; it's also a history of modern comedy. CREDIT: Showtime

Showtime's five-part documentary about the famed Los Angeles club contains plenty of laughs. But it also says a lot about fame, about the drive to succeed, competition and friendship.Read More

Jerry Seinfeld On Staying Home: ‘At My Dinner Table, You’re Supposed To Be Funny’

By NPR News May 3, 2020

Jerry Seinfeld pictured in his Netflix special, 23 Hours to Kill. He says he's "adjusted pretty comfortably" to life at home. CREDIT: Jeffery Neira/Netflix

The comedian says he's doing well under quarantine. He talked with NPR about comedy during a pandemic and his new Netflix standup special, 23 Hours to Kill. "Humor is an essential survival quantity."Read More

In ‘Downhill,’ Julia Louis-Dreyfus And Will Ferrell Are ‘Not Here To Play It Safe’

By NPR News February 14, 2020

Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus star in the new dark comedy Downhill. Fox Searchlight Pictures

In the film Donwhill starring Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a married couple barely escapes an avalanche during a family ski vacation and are forced to reevaluate their lives.Read More

Buck Henry, Screenwriter And Actor Famous For ‘The Graduate’ And TV Comedy, Dies At 89

By NPR News January 10, 2020

Buck Henry attends a screening of The Graduate during the TCM Classic Film Festival on April 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, Calif. CREDIT: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCM

Henry made regular appearances on Saturday Night Live, co-directed the film Heaven Can Wait, and co-created the comedy show Get Smart. He died Wednesday in Los Angeles following a heart attack. Read More

Ilana Glazer Strikes Out On Her Own In New Stand-Up Special

By NPR News January 2, 2020

Comedian and actor Ilana Glazer strikes out solo in her new hour-long special, The Planet Is Burning, set to release on Amazon Prime Video in January. CREDIT: Emily V. Aragones/Amazon Studios, Prime Video

After shedding her beloved, free-wheeling Broad City character, the real Ilana is coming out of dormancy. "I have this fire in me," she says. It shows in her new comedy special, The Planet is Burning.Read More

Comedian Margaret Cho: ‘I Invented The Cancellation’

By NPR News December 22, 2019

Comedian Margaret Cho is currently on a stand-up tour called Fresh Off the Bloat. CREDIT: Albert Sanchez

Loud and unapologetic, and a trailblazer on race and sexuality, the stand-up comic discussed "cancel culture," Asian American comedy and her short-lived sitcom All-American Girl.Read More

After Comic Garry Shandling’s Death, Judd Apatow Found Zen In His Diaries

By NPR News November 11, 2019

Filmmaker Judd Apatow describes his mentor, the comedian Garry Shandling (above), as a perfectionist: "He just could not just be chill and make it easy on himself. He wanted everything to be amazing." CREDIT: Bonnie Schiffman/HBO

"He completely changed my life," Apatow says of his mentor. It's Garry Shandling's Book, which Apatow edited, explores the insecurities and personal trauma that Shandling turned into comedy. Read More

‘The Best Part Of The First Amendment’: Dave Chappelle Accepts Mark Twain Prize At Kennedy Center

By NPR News October 28, 2019

Dave Chappelle accepts the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. PBS will air a television special of the ceremony in January. Tracey Salazar/Courtesy of the Kennedy Center

Sarah Silverman, Tiffany Haddish and Jon Stewart were among the comedians who honored Chappelle as he received the annual American humor award in a music-filled ceremony at the Kennedy Center.Read More

Julia Louis-Dreyfus: ‘I Don’t Think I’ve Made It … And I Like That’

By NPR News August 23, 2019

Nominated for a ninth Emmy Award in acting, the star of Veep and Seinfeld talks about getting her first laugh, her rocky start at Saturday Night Live and the #MeToo movement.Read More

Satirical Magazine ‘MAD’ To Exit Newsstands And Recycle Its Classic Material

By NPR News July 4, 2019

At MAD magazine's peak in the early 1970s, more than 2 million people subscribed to it. The magazine will shift to printing collections of old content and end-of-year specials with new material. Read More

Hannah Gadsby: If Political Correctness Can Kill Comedy, It’s Already Dead

By NPR News July 1, 2019

The Australian comedian publicly called it quits in her breakout special, Nanette, last year. That only got more people to pay attention. She now returns with a new tour, Douglas.Read More

Conan O’Brien Settles Joke Theft Lawsuit — And Makes Fun Of NPR’s New Music

By NPR News May 10, 2019

Late night TV host Conan O'Brien, pictured in 2016, has settled a lawsuit with a man who accused O'Brien and his writing staff of stealing his jokes. Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair

"Short of murder, stealing material is the worst thing any comic can be accused of," O'Brien writes. The case was due to go to a jury trial within weeks.Read More

Dave Chappelle To Receive Mark Twain Prize For American Humor

By NPR News May 7, 2019

In recent years, Dave Chappelle returned to stand-up comedy in force with a series of specials, released on Netflix. He will receive the Mark Twain Prize on Oct. 27, 2019. Lester Cohen/Netflix

The comic and actor, known for his boundary-pushing stand-up routines and his sketch comedy TV series Chappelle's Show, will receive the award in a gala at the Kennedy Center.Read More

FILM REVIEW: When You Meet The Enemy, And It Is ‘Us’

By NPR News March 22, 2019

Though less thematically precise than Get Out, Jordan Peele's latest film doubles down on horror — and excels at capturing the mundane, funny moments between the big scares.Read More

‘You Get Paid For Doing Therapy’: Stand-Up Comedians On Anger

By NPR News February 20, 2019

Comedian Mo Amer, seen here in his Netflix special The Vagabond, says that stand-up has been a significant part of his "coping process" with an itinerant childhood. CREDIT: Netflix

For centuries, people have turned to jesters for relief from the miseries of life. As it turns out, some stand-up performers turn pain and rage into their own coping and catharsis.Read More

A Top Impressionist, Melissa Villaseñor Is Finding Her Own Voice On ‘SNL’

By NPR News September 29, 2018

Melissa Villaseñor's talent for impersonation has helped to earn her appearances on Saturday Night Live, like this sketch from April 2018. She joins the show as a full cast member this fall.

She's known for celebrity imitations: Hillary Clinton and Owen Wilson, Jennifer Lopez and Bjork, and so on. Now, as she joins Saturday Night Live's full cast, she's learning what else she can do.Read More

Comic Michelle Wolf Responds To Backlash: ‘I’m Glad I Stuck To My Guns’

By NPR News May 1, 2018

Michelle Wolf says the title of her HBO special, Nice Lady, was inspired by real life: "For the longest time ... I thought that's how I was supposed to be. I thought I was just supposed to be nice and pleasant — and then I realized that's no fun." CREDIT: TASOS KATOPODIS

Though critics argued that the comedian's barbed monologue at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner was too pointed, Wolf stands by her set: "I wouldn't change a single word."Read More