On May 7, 2022, the inaugural Netflix Is a Joke festivalâs âStand Outâ show welcomed to the Greek Theatre stage 22 diverse LGBTQ+ comedians, including Eddie (Suzy) Izzard, Wanda Sykes, Lily Tomlin, Sandra Bernhardt, Rosie OâDonnell, Trixie Mattel, Tig Notaro, Sam Jay, Mae Martin, Joel Kim Booster, Fortune Feimster and Bob the Drag Queen. In the wings, documentary director Page Hurwitz kept cameras rolling and conversations flowing.
Premiering at the Tribeca Festival June 7 and reaching Netflix June 18, Hurwitzâs âOutstanding: A Comedy Revolutionâ dives deep into the history of stand-up trailblazers like Moms Mabley (out in the 1920s in her 20s) and Robin Tyler (the 1950s, age 16) who demanded equality.
By the late â70s, Tomlin explains, âComedy became an act of resistance,â in the face of Anita Bryantâs âSave Our Childrenâ discrimination campaign. Bernhardt experienced a parallel battle with Ronald Reagan in the â80s. (Historical turns of progress inevitably meet religious persecution.) As a young comic during the AIDS crisis, Todd Glass heard hurtful cracks from Eddie Murphy, Sam Kinison and Andrew âDiceâ Clay. He grew fearful of being outed even as Margaret Cho, Rosie OâDonnell and Ellen DeGeneres rose to stardom through the â90s.
Elsewhere, mustachioed history/political science buff Guy Branum lends context to jaw-dropping archival footage, Hannah Gadsby speaks to the rise of identity-forward material, and River Butcher and Solomon Georgio pay homage to Izzardâs influence around the globe.
On the local film front, comic and cartoonist Mo Welchâs âDad Jokes,â a stand-up special/documentary partially filmed at the Lodge Room in Highland Park, debuts on YouTube June 14. Pioneering trans activist Tuesday Thomas gets the doc treatment with âThe Trash Goes Out on Tuesday,â premiering June 12 at the Independent Filmmakers Showcase at Regal L.A. Live.
Fifi Dosch poses for a portrait.
(Fifi Dosch)
Elsewhere across Los Angeles:
Trixie Mattelâs packed calendar for WeHo Pride 2024 â âone of my favorite Prides in the universeâ â includes June 2âs annual Santa Monica Boulevard parade. (The Comedy Store returns with its own comedian-packed float.) Enthuses Mattel, âIâve attended, Iâve hosted, and I always have the time of my life.â
On June 7, Fifi Dosch hosts âa kind of on the hush-hushâ but âvery trans, very kinky comedy show and art exhibitâ at a secret Van Nuys locale dubbed the Greenhouse. âWe donât advertise the address freely,â Dosch cautions of the âreally fun trans refuge and party,â but for attendees who message @greenhouse.comedy.and.art on Instagram, âWeâll give the address if we can prove youâre not a cop.â Art show begins at 6 p.m. with comedy at 8. Previews Dosch, âIâll be hosting in a hammer-and-sickle bikini.â
June 21 at Echo Parkâs inclusive lingerie store, Sammy Mowreyâs âBoyfriend: A Queer Comedy Showâ brings aboard Jake Noll and Pluto Papaya, âsome of my favorite queer comedians in L.A., opening for me while I run my half-hour set.â Intending to tape the special within the next six to eight months, Mowry says, âIâm trying to get the feel of the flow.â
Comedian Cameron Esposito at the Bergamot Comedy Fest at the Crow on April 5, 2024.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
In Santa Monica, a new Family Pride weekend launches with safe, all-ages events. June 14 at 7 and 9 p.m., the Crowâs signature âStoryectomyâ series returns with community and allies getting personal alongside headliners like Cameron Esposito. June 15 at the Santa Monica Pier, the Crow hosts free âFierce Fables: Drag Queen Pride â Family Edition!â storytelling at the Carousel from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., along with face painting, a Family Pride parade and dance numbers from Pickle Drag Queen, Pandora Boxx and Johnny Gentleman.
Back at the venueâs Bergamot Station home base that afternoon, programming includes family-friendly improv from Pull My Finger, a youth open mic, the âBYOB(Baby)â comedy show, music from singer-songwriter Abby Posner and âI Gotta Crowâ stand-up with Nina Nguyen, Jeffrey Jay, Jeena Bloom, Zoe Zakson and Jackie Monahan.
A double dose of âJosh Thomas: Letâs Tidy Upâ comes clean in Westlake June 2 and 3, Natalie Rotter-Laitman does an hour June 17, Drew Droegeâs new âMessy White Gaysâ play gets dirty June 24, and Nikki Levy hosts âDonât Tell My Motherâ June 25 with Rachel Scanlon, Vico Ortiz, Jen Kober and musical guests Ezra & the Pussyboys.
The board of directors/comedians at alt-comedy venue the Elysian Theater.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Frogtownâs favorite comedy theater offers âJoe Castle Baker: Something to Think Aboutâ June 8, the descriptively named âCameron Esposito Is Taping a Thingâ June 9, âTwin Flamesâ June 16, âBig Dad Energyâ June 27 and âGentlemenâs Clubâ June 30. Longtime scene producer Sam Varelaâs Naked Comedy brand further sweetens the Elysian calendar with June 4âs clowning collage âSelf-Portraits With Shan Faheyâ and June 8âs âAhamed Weinberg Presents: Repentance,â a Downtown Womenâs Shelter fundraiser with Esposito, Brendan Scannell and host Titi Lee.
Additional Naked Comedy productions include live-animated show âPicture This! Pride Editionâ at the Virgil June 21 and Quei Tannâs âThe QT Comedy Show!â Hollywood Fringe festival run with rotating lineups June 16, 21, 23, 27 and 29 at the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
Aparna Nancherla.
(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)
On June 6 at the Lab, âNori Reed and Loversâ gets busy with Sam Oh, EJ Marcus, Rachel Pegram and Aparna Nancherla. June 24âs âThe Mav & Kalea Showâ finds Mav Viola and Kalea McNeill doing time up top plus hosting four of their TBA comedy pals.
Largo
Before Ellen DeGeneres begins touring in late June en route to filming her final-ever special, two DeGeneres test dates were extended to four: June 4, 5, 12 and 13. Tig Notaroâs monthly âTig Has Friendsâ slot momentarily shifts to Notaro and partner Stephanie Allynneâs âShe Said, She Saidâ June 16.
From the heart of Silver Lake, âHaley Stiel Works on Some Thingsâ June 1, Rachel Kaly brings âMajor LOL Vibesâ June 2, âPlanet Courtneyâ takes orbit June 6, âHannah Einbinder Presents Friends and New Materialâ June 21, âtwo rogue lesbian nuns take overâ in âDivine Perversions: A Sapphic Massâ June 23 and Titi Lee turns âGood Girl Gone Baddieâ June 30.
Atwater Villageâs newbie wine shop only opened in January, but its Baby Battista bar venue has already become an alt hot spot. âEver Mainard and Their Mostly Gay Friendsâ donate 100% of ticket sales to the Fund Texas Choice nonprofit June 11, with Mainard returning June 27 for solo-show-in-progress âOttis.â (Mainardâs âYâall Gay Podcastâ co-host Ali Clayton releases debut comedy album âCountry Queerâ May 31, a mere 15 years into her career.) June 25 at Nicoâs, Naked Comedy and Jeena Bloomâs âCruising Comedyâ promises âthe hottest and hardest stand-up comedy action you can handle!â
The Hollywood sketch and improv mecca pits âGays vs. Straights,â in a âgameshow death matchâ June 1, the venueâs first all trans/gender-nonconforming/nonbinary improv team delivers âQTâs PresentâŠJoy!â June 2, Jesse Esparza and Dan Leahy a.k.a. âTwo Loud Gaysâ perform âvery loud, very gayâ sketch June 4, the all-queer cast of âConversion Campâ variety gets campy June 5, and âDating Gaymeâ makes matches with a â1/2 Homosexual Dating Show, 1/2 Queer Improv Spectacularâ June 16.