Hannah Gadsby
Fresh off the success of her powerful Netflix special Nanette, Australian comedian and writer Hannah Gadsby brings her follow-up show Douglas (named after the comedian's beloved dog) to the Newmark Theatre for a 4-night Portland stop on her first-ever U.S. Tour. (May 15-18, Wed-Fri 8 pm, Sat 9 pm, Newmark Theatre, $42.25-63.50)
Maria Bamford
One of the most finely tuned minds of our time, Maria Bamford takes stand-up to a dizzying new level, where non-sequiturs, vulnerability, and brutal honesty form a nexus of gut-splitting hilarity. Fresh off her critically lauded and gone too soon series Lady Dynamite and her Netflix special Old Baby, Bamford is storming into Portland with a boatload of fresh material spotlighting her beautiful psychological fragility that also skewers the buffoons who ruin everyoneâs lives. (May 16-18, Thurs 8 pm, Fri-Sat 7:30 pm & 10 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $25-38) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
The I, Anonymous Show
Look, we have no delusions of grandeurâwe know that 90 percent of the reason you pick up the Mercury is to read I, Anonymous, in which anonymous readers share their deepest and funniest and grossest and sexiest seeeeecrets! (Okay, the sexiest ones are pretty rare, but still.) Thatâs why we also present one of the best live shows in Portlandâthe I, Anonymous Show, featuring the funniest people in town, who readâand judgeâthe best I, Anonymous entries! This time around, host Kate Murphy will be joined by the hilarious Wendy Weiss, Jeremiah Coughlan, and Randall Lawrence! Get ready for a whole lot of laughs and a whole lot of seeeeecrets. (Wed May 1, 7:30 pm, Curious Comedy Theater, $10) ERIK HENRIKSEN
Tom Segura
After selling out a run of shows at Revolution Hall his last time through town, stand-up sensation and beloved podcast host Tom Segura takes over the Keller Auditorium for a two-night Portland stop on his "Take it Down" Tour. (Fri-Sat May 1-2, 7 pm, Keller Auditorium, $29-89)
Wunderkonntent
Portland comedy oddballs Phil Schallberger, Steven Wilber, Jason Traeger, and Jordan Casner join forces to bring their "Sketch-Standup-Hybrid-Colossus" show to Kickstand Comedy's new location to help you get the weekend started with some big laughs. (Fri May 3, 9 pm, Kickstand Comedy Space, $10)
Minority Retort
As long as Minority Retort continues to produce one of the best stand-up showcases in the city, youâre going to keep reading about it here. This time, Oakland's Papp Johnson hits the siren stage and he's bringing Wilfred Padua back to the Northwest with him. Support includes James Barela, Kae Aguilar, and Khadija Hassan. Hosted by Jason Lamb and Julia Ramos. (Sat May 4, 8 pm, Siren Theater, $12-15)
Night Cheese: Return of the Cheese
Did you really think May the Fourth was going to come and go and Night Cheese wasn't gonna have anything to say about it? Odds of that happening are something like 3,720 to 1. For the special occassion, the Cheese is inviting special guest artist (and former co-host) Aaron Landtree to this Star Wars-themed evening of variety show fun. (Sat May 4, 9 pm, Kickstand Comedy Space, free, all ages)
Cinco de Mayo Comedy Explosion
Headliner Erik Rivera looks to blow the roof off Harvey's with his Cinco de Mayo comedy party, with support from Lance Edwards and Daja Monae. (Sun May 5, 7:30 pm & 9:30 pm, Harvey's Comedy Club)
Michael Quu
Long Island-hailing and Los Angeles-based comedian Michael Quu (aka MIKE.QUU) gets set to regale a mid-week audience at Helium with his energetic storytelling and observational comedy. (Tues-Wed May 7-8, 7:15 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $20)
Dear Diary: Audience Roulette!
An improv show dedicated to taking all those things you put in your diary during your tween years, and losing them upon the stage in the most hilarrible ways. This special installment's diarist is you, the audience, and the performers tasked with taking your mortification and turning it into comedy gold are Natalie Haddad, Paris Hyun, Katie Kester, Emily Shankman, Lauren Sinner, Emilie Sites, and Anne Zander. (Thurs May 9, 7:30 pm, Kickstand Comedy Space, $5)
Kevin Nealon
One of the funnier performers from one of the greatest eras of Saturday Night Live, Nealon moved on from the Weekend Update desk to do multiple stand-up specials, and steal the show in almost every episode of Showtime's Weeds. (May 9-11, Thurs 8 pm, Fri-Sat 7:30 pm & 10 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $25-38)
Disowned
A new stand-up showcase with a twist: Instead of just telling jokes about your parents, comedians will be telling jokes in front of their parents, and then host Jenna Vesper will host a Q&A with said parents about what the hell it was like raising a stand-up comedian, and what it felt like to hear that come out of their mouth just now. Tonight's guests include Rochelle Cote, Bobby Higley, Dylan Carlino, and Aaron Harleman. (Sat May 11, 7 pm, Kelly's Olympian, $12)
Stand Up Science with Shane Mauss
The stand-up and podcaster (the two terms are pretty close to synonymous at this point) comes to the Siren Theater to present his heady blend of comedy and science. And beer. Comedy + Science + Beer = Shane. (Sun May 12, 8 pm, Siren Theater, $15)
Mother! You Can't Spell Smother Without It!
A mid-afternoon musical stand-up showcase for Mother's Day, brought to you by the comedic mind of Molly Schwarz, with special guests Merideth Kaye Clark and Mont Chris Hubbard. (Sun May 12, 3 pm, Curious Comedy Theater, $25)
Bad Girls Comedy Tour
Cobra Comedy's Bad Girls tour hits Portland, featuring stand-up from Cienna Jade, Jane Malone, and Gabby Jesus, with support from locals Corina Lucas and Katie Nguyen. (Mon May 13, 8 pm, Kelly's Olympian, $10-15)
Jessa Reed, Aaron Woodall
The Siren hosts an evening of stand-up with the comedians and hosts of the Mormon And The Meth-Head podcast. (Thurs May 16, 7 pm, Siren Theater, $15-20)
Back Fence PDX: Russian Roulette
It returns! If you like storytelling with a little danger, check out Back Fence PDX: Russian Roulette! Six entertaining storytellers spin a wheel of âpromptsâ (examples: âpublic nudity,â âbreaking the lawâ) and whatever the wheel lands on, the person will have five minutes to come up with a five minute story on that subject! Trust me, itâs a goddamn hoot. Hosted by B. Frayn Masters and Mindy Nettifee. (Thurs May 16, 7:30 pm, Curious Comedy Theater, $16-26) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
Nate Bargatze
Revolution Hall presents an evening of stand-up with the comedian out of Old Hickory, Tennessee, known for his 2017 Netflix special, his appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and @midnight, and for being listed at #1 on Vulture's 50 Comedians You Should Know list in 2015. (Fri May 17, 7 pm & 9 pm, Revolution Hall, $29.50)
Kill Tony
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and his co-host Brian Redban bring their weekly live podcast to the Aladdin Theater stage for the Portland stop on a summer tour. (Fri May 17, 8 pm, Aladdin Theater, $20)
Kevin Heffernan & Steve Lemme
Broken Lizard's Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme swing through the Aladdin Theater for the Portland stop on a live tour supporting their new truTV comedy, Tacoma FD. (Sun May 19, 8 pm, Aladdin Theater, $25, all ages)
Corey Holcomb
The veteran comedian, actor, and radio host out of Chicago brings his stand-up to the Helium stage for a full-weekend of headlining shows. (May 24-26, Fri-Sat 7:30 pm & 10 pm, Sun 7 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $28-38)
Hampton Yount, Dave Ross
The comedians, writers, and hosts of the comedy/history/mental health podcast Suicide Buddies close out the weekend with a pair of co-headlined shows at the Siren Theater. (Sun May 26, 7 pm & 9:30 pm, Siren Theater, $18-22, all ages)
Schittâs Creek: Up Close & Personal
The critically acclaimed sitcom created by Daniel Levy and Eugene Levy comes to life on the Keller stage when the cast visits Portland for a evening of conversation, behind-the-scenes insight, and surprises. (Mon May 27, 7:30 pm, Keller Auditorium, $45 & Up)
Gary Gulman
Gary Gulman is a New York City comedian who honed his act on high school students as a gym teacher before bringing it to the stage. He's performed stand-up on every single late night talk show, and finished third on season 2 of NBC's Last Comic Standing. Catch up with him this weekend when he brings "The Great Depresh" Tour through Helium. (Thurs May 30, 8 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $17-33)
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!
