Watching 10 minutes of the evening news or scrolling through Twitter for a while can leave you despondent, but a trio of New Yorkers have found a way to inject some mirth into your life.
Alex Barnett, Dan Enfield and Max Neuman produce Glass Half Full Comedy: Upbeat Comedy for a Downbeat Time at Gotham Comedy Club. The show, which runs on the first Saturday of every month, has the three funnymen putting together a new lineup to bring some laughter into the world with uplifting jokes.
“We wanted to do a show that would appeal to a broad audience of people that would be really fun and funny and also available at a really good comedy club and not overly expensive,” Barnett told amNewYork. “And as comics, we’re always interested in getting stage time. So one way to do that is to produce your own show. It was a twofold thing of wanting to deliver a really high level comedy at a reasonable price, but also have stage time for ourselves.”
The lineup is different every month, and always features experienced comedians who have worked on other shows before. This coming Saturday’s show will feature Barnett, Enfield, Teresa DeGaetano, Sam Zayvan, Amy Jans and Dave Rosinsky. It’s the seventh anniversary of Glass Half Full, which launched in March 2013.
Barnett explained that people have gravitated toward comedy in a time when the news can often get them down.
“The news is so imposing and difficult and often tragic,” he said. “Often people are looking for a funny outlet to release pent-up emotions. There’s clearly an appetite for funny material and for humor and for stand-up comedy. I think there’s always been an appetite since human civilization began for funny material. People love to laugh.”
Many people in the audience are repeat customers and return to the Gotham Comedy Club to see Glass Half Full. Barnett sees that as a sign that they like what they’re seeing, which motivates him to keep it going.
“We’re thrilled that audiences keep coming out,” he said. “That’s awesome because that means that they really like the brand of humor that we’re delivering.”
Glass Half Full Comedy: Upbeat Comedy for a Downbeat Time takes place 10:45 p.m. Saturday at Gotham Comedy Club, 208 W. 23rd St., gothamcomedyclub.com, $15
