323 stories by "JASON ZINOMAN"
The art form was already in decline; this may hasten its demise. But don't fret about the host. His talents are better showcased elsewhere.
The term has fallen out of fashion, but the experimental spirit of the genre lives on in the refreshingly off-kilter Brent Weinbach and Eddie Pepitone.
In his candid memoir "Comedy Samurai," the writer-director Larry Charles explains his comfort with failure and analyzes why creative collaborations end.
What is it about Chekhov's melancholy inaction hero that makes him, and the play he stars in, so meaningful at all ages?
In accepting the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the comedian mounted a bristling political attack artfully disguised as a tribute.
The acerbic comic sounds like a Mamet character, and thanks to Nathan Lane, he's making his Broadway debut as one in "Glengarry Glen Ross."
Her gossipy portrait of singlehood as a celebrity is a sunny contrast to the darker view of her Netflix stablemate Hannah Gadsby.
The pandemic dealt a major blow to the once-thriving comedy form, but a new energy can be seen in performances throughout the city.
The Wooster Group's staging of Richard Foreman's play operates like a delightful love letter from one giant of experimental theater to another.
Zach Zucker delivers a raucously funny portrait of a catastrophically dim stand-up comic at SoHo Playhouse.
Eddie Izzard is a wildly witty ad-libber, but a play straitjackets this gift " especially in this new staging that is short of ideas.
Peter Marks's departure from the Washington Post is only the latest sign that too many of us have taken the importance of reviews for granted for too long.
In this age of reboots and remakes, a magic show seeks "a total invention" even as it deconstructs that desire, showing how rare a truly new work is.
Liz Kingsman plays a messy attention-seeker grasping at relevance in a sharp satire of the trend of female comics playing chaotic train wrecks.
Alex Edelman thrives on doubt in "Just for Us" on Broadway. It's the result of years of revision and notes from Seinfeld, Birbiglia and the late Adam Brace.
A new generation of stand-ups is mining the heartbreaking loss of a loved one for ambitious shows. How did we get here?
In his brisk, low-maintenance Off Broadway show, the workhorse comic Colin Quinn extols the virtues of idle chitchat.
In this unsettling moment, comedians, filmmakers, playwrights and others have been struggling against a long-ingrained American response to look away.
No one knows what an egg yolk omelet is, but we all know that TV hosts should be relatable. Or should they? That didn't do Ellen DeGeneres any favors.
The experimental comic is known for freewheeling sets. Then Bo Burnham asked, "What if you actually tried to make something?" The transition has been hard.
In "Hyprov," audience members are hypnotized into performing sketches. The show's creators argue that the novices make stronger choices than pros would.
For a cultural critic, a sense of humor is integral to his Jewish identity. But these dark times raise existential questions about comedy and its uses.
The French master teacher Philippe Gaulier has worked with stars like Sacha Baron Cohen. But at 78, are his methods, which include insults, outdated?
As he turns 80, don't be fooled by his serious music. From the start, his work has been filled with a cockeyed humor that can range from corny jokes to dark wit.
Two online business models see a future post-pandemic, but success might depend on cooperating with actual clubs.
