Next week, The Broadway Comedy Club is hosting an all-women comedy show celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
Entitled “Rice & Spice,” the show will take place on May 19 and will feature women in the comedy space with AAPI heritage. Hosted and produced by comedian Katy Lau, this is the fourth iteration of the comedy show and the first time it’s coming to The Broadway Comedy Club stage.
The show aims to empower Asian women in comedy who may not have felt community in comedy before.
“Being an Asian comedian, just seeing very little of me even in all the shows that I did get booked, I was basically the only woman and definitely the only Asian woman. So I felt like it would be so empowering to have a comedy show that is all women and all Asian women,” said Lau. “That was something that I had not seen ever so far that I’ve been in the comedy scene.”
The lineup includes Natalie Lin, Patricia Dinglasan, Jamie Wang, Angel Yau, Soo Ra, and Macy Kwok. Lau says that everyone on the lineup will bring their own raw, hilarious experiences to the stage.
“Everyone has such unique lenses, and so I really wanted to show that,” said Lau. “When I look at the comedians, like the Asian women comedians, some of them are very sexy or some of them are talking about all these things, but I can’t relate to them. I wanted to create a space where you think about an Asian female comedian, and it’s maybe a little raunchy or this or that, and actually, we have all different kinds of experiences, yet we’re all courageous in terms of just sharing our own authentic expression and experiences and comedy in our own way.”
In addition to the comedy, Lau has created a VIP experience spotlighting her favorite AAPI brands. From 6 – 7 p.m. that night, Shoott Photos will be doing free headshots for patrons, and there will be other surprises throughout the night.
Guests will also have a chance to win a VIP goodie bag from Avant Collective, with items from Here For The Burn Candles, PonyFlo caps, ESW Beauty and more.
“We thought it would be such an amazing opportunity to showcase just all of the range of AAPI talent, entrepreneurship, and we wanted to give away things to the audience because that’s something that’s never been done in my shows, at least,” said Lau. “It’s a celebration of different voices, different talent, different creativity, and bringing people together and giving back to the community and also feeling seen in the community.”
The show will start at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.broadwaycomedyclub.com.
Details
What: Rice & Spice Comedy Night
Where: Broadway Comedy Club, 318 West 53rd St.
When: May 19, 7 p.m., doors open at 6 p.m.
Price: Tickets start at $25
Flyer courtesy of Katy Lau