Had a tough day at work? What a jerk of a boss you have, we get it. But instead of tromping off to the bar to damage your liver while bitching about the boss with your co-workers, how about you skip it this time and instead find solace in laughter and the accepting, blank stares of a crowd of baby dolls. Sound like a weird idea? It is! But Brokelyn alum and Punderdome 3000 genius Jo Firestone’s Tiny Comedy Club is just what you need if things are a little too staid and boring in your life.
The club works pretty simply. Jo just hangs out at a studio space in Manhattan at 266 West 37th Street, and hanging out with her are 30 baby dolls in various states of dress and inebriation. Anyone can walk in and do a standup set at the mic that Firestone set up in front of the dolls, and she’ll control the audience reaction through a sound system hooked up to her laptop. Will you get polite applause, coughing, crying or laughter? Or someone who hasn’t turned their cellphone off? That’s up to you! And Jo, mostly.
Even if you’ve never done standup before, the babies are pretty welcoming, and Jo and some friends provide jokes on index cards that you can read to the “audience.” Of course, what’s even better then the fact that you’re telling jokes to inanimate objects is that since the studio is on the street level and has a giant glass window, anyone can walk in while you’re doing your set. Which is what happened to me, as a group of teenagers coming back from Comic-Con walked in and listened to a couple minutes, before leaving, presumably happy that they weren’t the weirdest people in Manhattan that day. It’s a perfect way to spend a lunch break, and at the very least, the weirdest goddamn thing you’ll experience for at least a year.
You have until October 26 to do your bit, with the “club” being open until 6pm today, noon until 9pm Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, noon until 6pm on Wednesday and noon until 4pm on Saturday.