Arab American Comedy Review in New York, by LebNet

I never thought I'd ever see the day that an entire evening at a comedy club in New York City would be wholly dedicated to a complete lineup of Arab comedians. Alas, on November 3, 2002, that's exactly what happened at the diminutive second stage in the New York Comedy Club.

Six Arab-American comedians - Sherif Hedayat, Jim Asher, Omar Koury, Dean Obeidallah, Nasry Malake, and headliner Ray Hanania put on what was a fairly historic event in the relatively anonymous genre of Arab-American comedy and on a larger scale, the unheralded world of modern day Arab-American culture.

While I'm running the risk of oversimplifying the entire genre of Arabic comedy to the bizarre antics found in virtually every Egyptian Dish Network movie featuring that guy with the notoriously bad comb-over and Danny Thomas, I think it's pretty safe to say that our expectations aren't all that high when it comes to Arab public figures of comedy around the world. With that said, the overwhelming - and that is the proper word - response among the almost entirely Arab audience filled with random Palestinians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Syrians, Egyptians, etc., was nothing short of amazing and oddly intriguing all at once.

Amazing because not only was the show sold out so quickly that they had to add another performance to accommodate the large response to the show (and still people had to wait well over an hour outside in the bitter cold and then again another 1/2 hour inside to get in), but the fact that each show caused the club to break many fire hazard and building code regulations by wedging nearly 170 people into a hopelessly small and steamy second stage that barely fit 130 comfortably, not to mention legally. My friend and I were the last two let in - and she wound up sitting on the floor.

The intriguing part is a little harder to explain. To start, anticipation usually breeds extra excitement no matter what it is you're exactly waiting for (or even if it's not all that exciting). Like waiting for a kiss, a Christmas or birthday present you know is coming but can't have just yet, stuff like that. But humor and comedy clubs - much less one filled with a bunch of particular & discerning Arabs - aren't usually that forgiving. So when it all finally got underway, I noticed something really interesting about what was happening:

It's true. An Arabic M.C. whose delivery was non-existent and thought that the karaoke that made his aunt laugh at home was going to fly in a NYC comedy club, led us in and out of each comedian's routines with trite references to Journey songs and obligatory Arabic phrases. But surrounding the one or two funny jokes that were delivered by the first three comedians on the bill (see list above) was a bevy of material that simply wasn't all that funny. I really hate to say it because they're all Arabic like me, but I'd be lying if I said otherwise. Notwithstanding the bad cultural references and equally poor delivery that made me long for the energy and captivation of an Al Gore speech, the crowd was laughing their faces off. They laughed at pretty much anything, bad or good, to the point where some were flat out tearing.

I didn't know what to make of it, until it hit me. We, as Arab-Americans, are absolutely desperate for humor.

Some public lightheartedness, some of the goofy things our aunts say and do in the kitchens of our homes while pulling the pointy ends off string beans, some levity from talk of martyrdom, 72 virgins, Allah and disputed land occupation. We want it, and apparently, we'll take it at any cost. Like going to your respective local Arabic combination Night Club/Restaurant/Vaudevillian Freak Show, the artists (in this case, the comedians) pander to the different nationalities in the audience - 'ew il SOORYIEEN' (big applause), 'ew il LIBNANEEYE' (a more reserved but also admirable applause), 'ew il FALASTINEEYE!!' - which for some reason always garners the loudest hooting and hollering and an occasional 'wilililililiiii' from the Palestinians in the crowd as if all of Jerusalem had just been given back to them.

We were all just so happy to see people like us make us laugh about ourselves in public. In english. People like us in the crowd, that don't necessarily speak Arabic all that well (most of the comedians didn't seem to speak it well, if speak it at all), that have a New York accent or a West Coast vocabulary that often includes words like 'dude', and that we all love our country: The United States. No, we are not all adept at manipulating C-4 explosives, drive cabs, know what the hell they're saying on Al Jazeera, or know how to make a mean babghannouj. As Ray Hanania told me before the show, they were simply doing what Richard Pryor, Alan King/Woody Allen and John Leguizamo did for the African-American, Jewish and Hispanic population respectively did before them: break social barriers and stereotypes down through humor.

Let me be fair and say that Dean Obeidallah, who has written for TV's Saturday Night Live, was actually quite funny & witty by all standards of any comedian, not just as an Arab-American comedian. And of course headliner Ray Hanania was also one of the funnier acts of the evening with his wry delivery and more daring humor (although possibly 10 minutes too long and somewhat politically charged at the end for the agitated and tired crowd at the end of a long evening in a hot room).

A comedian's job is never an easy one, and even the not-so-funny ones did an admirable job on this relatively historic night for Arab-American comedy. All in all, a great way to kick off what is hopefully a long and successful life for Arabic people in the world of humor. I just hope that next time, they find a bigger venue.

Bobby Ziade is the Editor in Chief for LebWorld as well as an accomplished professional Web Designer. You can see his work @ http://bobbyz.com or email him at BobbyZiade@LebWorld.com