The Arab American Comedy Festival is celebrating its 20th Anniversary with a year long tour to 5 of the most prestigious performance venues in the US, including NY shows at the famous Gotham Comedy Club and the iconic 1,500 seat Town Hall.
For two decades, the festival has upheld its commitment to combating negative media portrayals of Arab Americans and Muslims, while showcasing the incredible talent within the community and fostering connections with industry professionals. The Festival serves as a platform for cultural expression and fosters understanding and empathy through laughter.
Maysoon Zayid, comedian, inspirational speaker and co-founder of the festival shares, “From the very beginning, our festival has aimed to challenge stereotypes and amplify Arab American voices. We started our festival shortly after 9/11. We used the power of comedy to refute negative stereotypes and create understanding and community. In the face of renewed islamophobia from political scapegoating of Arab immigrants, the festival’s anti-hate messaging is more vital than ever.”
“For two decades, the festival has been a platform for emerging and established comedians to shine. Festival alumni have achieved incredible success, recognition at the Golden Globes and Emmys, and starring in and writing for specials and series on Comedy Central, Netflix, HBO, Hulu and more. We are proud of their accomplishments and the impact they have made in breaking barriers and expanding representation,” says co-Founder Dean Obeidallah.
November 16 – 18 at New York City’s renowned Gotham Comedy Club
7pm Comedy Bazaar on November 16
7:30pm The Haram Show on November 17
8pm Arab All Stars on November 18
November 19 at the iconic 1,500 seat Town Hall on Broadway
7pm NYAACF on Broadway
Comedians performing include:
Maysoon Zayid (record setting TED Talk “I’ve got 99 Problems… Palsy is Just One,” regular on CNN, MSNBC, OWN and General Hospital), Dean Obeidallah (MSNBC, CNN, The Dean Obeidallah Show” on SiriusXM radio, Comedy Central’s “Axis of Evil,” award-winning doc “The Muslims are Coming!”), Eman Morgan (Showtime, Netflix, Funny or Die), Atheer Yacoub (Comedy Central Special, Gotham Comedy Live), Mohanad Elshieky (Comedy Central, Conan, Lemonade’s “I’m Sorry” podcast, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee), Dave Merheje (Comedy Network, MTV Live, CBC, and co-starring in “Ramy”), Aron Kader (Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, The Muslims are Coming! documentary), Laura Laham (Best of the Fest in 2022’s Burbank Comedy Festival), Nataly Aukar (Netflix Is a Joke Festival, opened for Ramy Youssef, Hasan Minhaj and Gad El Maleh)
And many others!
The NYAACF 20th Anniversary Tour is presented by the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF) as part of their Building Bridges Program, which works to counter hate directed at Muslims through storytelling and multimedia initiatives.
Tickets are available for purchase through the respective venue’s box offices and websites.
www.arabcomedy.com
