Since 2015, Minority Retort has been Portland’s go-to stand-up comedy show featuring comedians of color in a predominately white city that desperately needs such things. And while it’s been difficult for event producers to book and maintain shows (no thanks to the shut ‘er down/open ‘er back-up nature of the COVID-19 pandemic), Minority Retort has kept itself in the forefront of audiences’ minds with regular appearances on local radio station XRAY.FM, before returning live and on-stage at its home at the Siren Theater in late June.
The ongoing success of Minority Retort lies in its regular juggernaut lineup of talent that over the years have included such local luminaries as Adam Pasi, Julia Ramos, Neeraj Srinivasan, Anthony Robinson, Katie Nguyen, Bri Pruett, Anthony Lopez, and Curtis Cook, as well as such top-notch national talent like Irene Tu, Dino Archie, and Marcella Arguello. But since comedy shows do tend to come and go, Minority Retort is an outlier in the Portland comedy scene, and its staying power is largely thanks to the incessant tenacity of producer (and occasional co-host) Jason Lamb.
Since Minority Retort has got not just one, but two big shows lined up for September, the Mercury wanted to catch up with Lamb about how the pandemic affected the show, the political ramifications of the last few years, and what the future holds for one of Portland’s most popular and consistently funny shows.
