Blue humor

A guide to the Blue Whale Comedy Festival

June 18-21, the 2^nd annual Blue Whale Comedy Festival brings national and local comics to downtown venues, plus film screenings, workshops, roundtable discussions and a roast of Tulsa businessman and Dist. 4 Councilor Blake Ewing. 

The lineup’s a major improvement from its inaugural year, with well-established headliners like Michael Ian Black, Natasha Leggero and Nikki Glaser and fast-ascending stars like Dan St. Germain and Nick Thune. As with every fest, there’s no way you’ll catch everything, it’s possible you’ll unwittingly miss a great under-the-radar act, and some brutal Sophie’s choices are likely. To help you skirt any major tragedies, here’s the Voice’s shortlist. 

Tickets cost $5-$35, and passes run $75-$180. Get your tickets and find the full schedule at bluewhalecomedyfestival.com. 

MORE ON THE FESTIVAL: Read Joe O'Shansky's story about the rise of Tulsa's comedy scene and Molly Bullock's bio of the 1491s.

Thursday, June 18: Killing us softly

All of tonight’s events overlap. If you put a gun to my head and made me choose, I’d probably have to go with Comedy Bowling—because good causes are good and Planned Parenthood needs all the support it can get around here. If you can’t bear to miss Tim Bagley, consider that he’s also performing Friday night at the Comedy Parlor. 

Comedy shorts contest
Circle Cinema, 10 S. Lewis Ave.
7 p.m.
Short film submissions will screen throughout the night, and the audience and a panel of judges (including yours truly) will select the two best films for awards.
$5 if you don’t have a Blue Whale pass. 

BLUE WHALE BOWL: Benefiting Planned Parenthood
Dust Bowl Lanes and Lounge, 211 S. Elgin
8 p.m.-midnight
Comedian and Tulsa native Josh Fadem will emcee this comedy bowling tournament.
$35-$40 (Includes food, drink and bowling). 

FREE screening of Judd Apatow’s 2007 classic, “Knocked Up”
Guthrie Green
8:30 p.m.
Hosted by veteran character actor Tim Bagley, who had a small part in the film as gynecologist Dr. Pellagrino. (“Oh, you DO look like your sister!”)

Friday, June 19: Double whammy

FREE happy hour comedy
Dwelling Spaces, 119 S. Detroit Ave.
4:30 p.m.
Features local laffers Jeff Thomas, Ryan Green, Drew Welcher, Andrew Deacon, Ryan Howell and Dan Fritsche. 

After the local warm-up, things start to get hairy. 

Alan Starzinski and Aparna Nancherla with Jane Bevan and Jeremiah Walton
Comedy Parlor, 328 E. 1st St.
6 p.m.
Young, witty and self-deprecating, both Starzinski and Nancherla personify the warm quirk and diversity of new millennial comedy. Starzinski is boisterous and sweet; Nancherla wields her deadpan charm to great effect with wry observations about race and culture. 

Nick Thune, Chris Cubas and Michael Zampino
The Fur Shop backyard, 520 E. 3^rd St.
7:30 p.m.
If you’re not acquainted, queue up Thune’s Netflix special, “Folk Hero,” and get to know his particular brand of absurdist comedy. It’s not for everybody, but fans of weirdo one-liner comics like Demetri Martin and Mitch Hedberg will likely be smitten with Thune’s quiet non-sequiturs. Sadly, Thune’s performance might conflict with the next two must-see shows…

The 1491s
Fassler Hall, 304 S. Elgin
8 p.m.
This Native American sketch comedy troupe satirizes issues of race, cultural appropriation and general American idiocy. They are hilarious. They are important. They were largely responsible for one of the most controversial (and funniest) recent episodes of “The Daily Show.” They include Oklahoma filmmaker Sterlin Harjo and artist Ryan RedCorn. We can’t stress this one enough: Go see them.

Dan St. Germain
​Blue Flag, 116 S. Elgin (formerly the site of White Flag Burger Bar)
8 p.m.
St. Germain appears at first glance to be yet another rotund, hairy, angry white man-child in the vein of Zach Galifianakis or Jack Black (or a billion others), which might be off-putting considering their overpopulation in the comedy world. But he’s an exceptionally funny and intelligent comedian, brimming with impotent rage and exasperation at his own failings and the world around him. If that description brings to mind Louis CK, it shouldn’t. They’re in the same ballpark, but St. Germain has a strong, original voice all his own. 

Natasha Leggero
​Legends, 514 E. 2^nd St.
9:30 p.m.
Without question, Leggero is tonight’s main event. Her cutting, acerbic comedy can be absolutely brutal, but she delivers even the most vicious joke with a wink and a smile. As MVP of the recent Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber, Leggero stole the show with the wittiest, meanest and funniest takedowns of the night. 

Saturday, June 20: Slow and steady

Improv workshops with Tim Bagley
Fly Loft
11 a.m.

Roundtable discussion with Toby Morton, Nikki Glaser and Maronzio Vance
Comedy Parlor
noon

Improv workshop with Alan Starzinski 
Fly Loft
2 p.m.

Live recording of The Bone Zone, a Los Angeles-based comedy podcast with Randy Liedtke and Brendon Walsh, featuring special guest Johnny Pemberton
Comedy Parlor 
4 p.m.

FREE local comedy with sets from Tyson Lenard, Michael Zampino, Brittany Daniels, Jane Bevan, Mike Modlin, Tank Tankersley and CR Parsons
Dwelling Spaces
4:30 p.m.

Then, the difficult decisions begin.

Sara Schaefer and Chris Cubas with Stan Silliman
Blue Flag, 116 S. Elgin.
6 p.m.
Schaefer is perhaps best known for her work with Nikki Glaser, including podcast You Had to Be There and MTV talk show “Nikki and Sara Live.” But her newly released debut solo stand-up album, Chrysalis, demands consideration. Schaefer uses her personal failings to paint a complex, sympathetic portrait of what it means to be a 30something woman today.  

Fadem’s Variety Show
The Fur Shop attic, 520 E. 3^rd St.
6:30 p.m.
If you’ve ever seen Booker T. grad Josh Fadem perform, you know he’s bonkers crazy and really, really funny. For the variety show, he’s backed up by Ryan Green, Rick Shaw and Johnny Pemberton. Beware—it overlaps with Sara Schaefer, but if there’s a way to catch half of both experiences, we recommend it.

Nikki Glaser, Erica Rhodes, Drew welcher and Seth Dees
The Fur Shop backyard
7:30 p.m.
If you don’t know Glaser from her aforementioned talk show with Sara Schaefer, you might recognize her work with Amy Schumer—she’s a recurring guest on Schumer’s “Inside Amy Schumer,” she has a part in Judd Apatow’s upcoming “Trainwreck” (starring and written by Schumer), and she was one of the titular comics in the special, “Women Who Kill” (available on Netflix). Glaser’s a pro, and funny as hell.

Michael Ian Black, Joe DeRosa, Tafadzwa Gwaze
Legends, 514 E. 2^nd St.
9:30 p.m.
Black is unfortunately best known as a recurring talking head on VH1’s obnoxious but highly addictive “I love the 70s/80s/90s,” but it’s his work with David Wain and Michael Showalter that makes comedy junkies swoon. They founded the sketch troupe Stella, created MTV cult classic “The State” and made numerous movies together, including “Wet Hot American Summer.”  Recently, Black has focused more on writing, penning well-received memoir “You’re Not Doing it Right” and co-authoring the humorous travelogue, “America, You Sexy Bitch,” with Meghan McCain.

Sunday, June 21: Going out with a bang

Roast of Blake Ewing
Fassler Hall
11:30 a.m.
In addition to offering his downtown businesses as festival venues, Dist. 4 Councilor Blake Ewing has graciously agreed to a public roasting. Voted Best Bullshit Caller in the Voice's 2015 Best of Tulsa awards, the outspoken Ewing is famous for ruffling feathers and engaging with his critics (see: my Facebook page), so there’s no shortage of material. As with any roast, it’s sure to get brutal, but Ewing will likely get the last word. Kudos to him for the act of self-sacrifice.

Haven’t had enough? Catch comedian, actor and writer Brian Posehn Wed., June 24, with Tulsa’s Ryan Green and
DJ Speedbump at IDL Ballroom. Get tickets for $25 in advance at Starship Records & Tapes or stubwire.com.

For more from Joshua, read his review of the Mad Men finale and his interview with The Frontier's Bobby Lorton and Ziva Branstetter.