“What’s So Funny About Detroit? A WDET Comedy Showcase” will bring some of the strongest, most diverse voices in metro Detroit's comedy scene to the stage at Go Comedy! Improv Theater in Ferndale on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m.
Hosted by Ryan Patrick Hooper of WDET’s CultureShift, the showcase will be recorded live and the sets will be aired at a later date on Culture Shift. Plans are also underway to create a podcast that includes conversations with the comedians about the lines between funny, offensive and off-limits, all interspersed with stand-up routines. The What’s So Funny About Detroit? podcast is scheduled for release in the summer of 2020.
The first-ever WDET stand-up comedy showcase will feature six comics from around metro Detroit:
- Detroit-based Josh Adams (headliner) has performed on BET’s Apollo Live and just released his debut stand-up comedy album Miseducation of Josh Adams.
- Born in Lima, Peru, Diego Attanasio has quickly become one of the most notable acts in Michigan and throughout the Midwest for his rapid-fire delivery and on-stage charisma.
- Dubbed a rising star in Detroit’s comedy scene, Sam Rager has mastered the blend of personal storytelling with huge laughs on her debut comedy album Trigger Warning, in which she jokes about her challenges with mental illness.
- Born and raised in Detroit, Jeffrey Ford is one of the most talented comedians working in the city today.
- Alex Bozinovic has been a comedian on stage and a presence behind the scenes for five years, quickly making a name for himself in the local scene. He has opened for comedians Jen Kirkman, Joe Mande, Guy Branum and Eddie Pepitone.
- A transfeminine and queer comic living in Detroit, Kai Quix is the host of the LGBTQ comedy night “Quix, Women and Queers.”
About CultureShift’s Ryan Patrick Hooper
Ryan Patrick Hooper is a host of CultureShift on 101.9 WDET Detroit’s NPR station. A longtime arts, culture and music reporter based in Detroit, his work regularly appears in the Detroit Free Press. In 2018, Hooper was named the Associated Press Michigan Editors Broadcast Rising Star. He’s also been awarded a Crain’s Detroit Business “Twenty In Their 20s” award for his work highlighting the legacy of minority-owned small businesses in Detroit. Hooper chose the comedians based on his knowledge and firsthand experience in the comedy scene. He is a stand-up comic, too.
About WDET 101.9 FM
From our Midtown Detroit location on the campus of Wayne State University, WDET 101.9 FM, Detroit’s NPR Public Radio Station, delivers a unique mix of news, conversation, special programs and music programming. Our powerful 48,000-watt broadcast signal reaches a 70-mile radius across all of Southeast Michigan, Northwest Ohio and Southwest Ontario. It expands nationally through our live stream, website, mobile app and podcasts. WDET 101.9 FM is a community service of Wayne State University.