Bridgetown Comedy Festival
Every year, I anticipate the Bridgetown Comedy Festival with the hopped-up excitement of a sugar-deprived five-year-old allowed a bowl of Froot Loops at a friend’s house. For a few glorious days, Portland stand-ups hobnob with out-of-town comedy heroes in a mildly drunk joke paradise, and this year’s lineup—Janeane Garofalo, Karen Kilgariff, Baron Vaughn, Guy Branum and tons more—is essential. MEGAN BURBANK
May 4-7, Various times and locations, see our Bridgetown calendar for more information
Patton Oswalt
America’s most lovable comic, and perhaps the only worthwhile person to follow on twitter (@pattonoswalt), heads to Portland for a can’t-miss show. For those who like good things in their lives, this thoughtful lefty nerd is the best, and you will miss out on a ton of laughs if you aren’t at the Schnitz on Tuesday night. Oswalt’s 2016 Emmy- and Grammy Award-winning special Talking For Clapping is on Netflix if, for some reason, you haven’t seen his standup before.
May 2, 7:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $35-45
Jerry Seinfeld
One of the greatest comics of all time and the star of the single best sitcom ever is coming to Portland for two Saturday evening shows. I repeat: Jerry Seinfeld is coming to Portland. Jerry Seinfeld! The Seinfeld. He’s brought so much joy into my life via a TV screen, it’s hard to believe that he’s a living, breathing person and that I’ll be in the same theater with him. I can’t wait. DOUG BROWN
May 6-7, 7 pm, 9:30 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $50-150, all ages
Radiotopia Live
Why see a single live podcast when you can watch a whole network take the stage? Radiotopia hits Portland and it's acclaimed stable of shows—99% Invisible, Criminal, Mortified, The Allusionist, and The Memory Palace, all do special live versions of their podcasts, all for roughly the same price as one live episode of Kevin Smith's show where he tells the same 15 stories about Bruce Willis, getting stoned, and crying at an episode of Batman: The Animated Series or whatever.
May 8, 8 pm, Aladdin Theater, $39.50, all ages
Brad Williams
A weekend of stand-up from a comedian and actor whose sense of humor is shaped by life with Achondroplastic dwarfism. Williams is best known for his regular appearances on the Mind of Mencia, as well as his recent Showtime one-hour specials, Fun Size and Daddy Issues.
May 11-13, Thurs 8 pm, Fri-Sat 7:30 pm, 10 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $15-31
Tape Face
New Zealand prop comic, busker, and mime and America's Got Talent season 11 stand-out Sam Wills brings his Tape Face character to the Aladdin stage for a night of silent stand-up and improv.
May 12, 8 pm, Aladdin Theater, $29.50, all ages
Sedan: Luxury Sketch Comedy
Portland's newest sketch comedy troupe rolls out onto the showfloor all shiny and smooth, engineered by Loren Hoskins and Shelley McLendon, with the comedic talents of Chad Parsons, Paul Glazier, and the Mercury's own Wm. Steven Humphrey humming under the hood.
May 12-24, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Siren Theater, $10-20
Tom Segura
A quick, cutting comedian, heard most often as a guest on The Bob and Tom Show and The Joe Rogan Experience, as well as his own podcast, Your Mom's House. Tonight Segura hits Revolution Hall to preform a pair of shows on the Portland stop on his "No Teeth No Entry" stand-up tour.
May 13, 8 pm, 10 pm, Revolution Hall, $29-50
Spec Script: How I Met Your Mother
A live episode of the Rivercity Podcast Federation program, where a staged reading of Jen Tam's script for a How I Met Your Mother episode is performed by comic talent including Angela Webber, Robbie Pankow, and Kyle George.
May 14, 7:30 pm, Kelly's Olympian, $5
The I, Anonymous Show
Ripped straight from the pages of the Mercury, The I, Anonymous Show takes YOUR shameful secrets, over-the-top rants, and scandalous confessions and passes them off to a panel of comedians and local celebs for judgement.
May 15, 7 pm, The Secret Society, $10-15
Chris Fleming
An evening of stand-up and sketch with the comedian best known for his portrayal of suburban alpha mom Gayle Waters-Waters in the hit YouTube web series, Gayle.
May 16, 8 pm, Aladdin Theater, $29
Russell Howard
An evening with the English comedian, television and radio presenter, and actor, best known for his TV show Russell Howard's Good News .
May 18, 8 pm, Alberta Rose Theatre, $25-30
Stephen Lynch
The Tony Award-nominated actor, comedian, and singer/songwriter brings his playful day-to-day life and pop culture riffing tunes to the Aladdin for the Portland stop on the "My Old Heart Tour."
May 19, 8 pm, Aladdin Theater, $30, all ages
Lady Bunny
An evening of song parodies, storytelling, and general silliness from Lady Bunny.
May 25, 7 pm, Aladdin Theater
Nick Swardson
Helium presents two nights of stand-up with the Minneapolis-hailing actor, comedian, and screenwriter known for his role as as Terry Bernadino in Reno 911!, his work with Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions, and his own Comedy Central sketch series, Nick Swardson's Pretend Time.
May 26-27, 7:30 pm, 10 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $25
Lez Stand Up
I fucking love Lez Stand Up. Not only is it one of the city’s absolute best queer-friendly comedy showcases, it’s one of the city’s best comedy shows, full stop. There’s a reason the ladies of Lez Stand Up sell out shows without trying: They’re really fucking funny, and when they fill a room, having people who aren’t straight white dudes on the bill isn’t a tokenizing afterthought. It’s the whole point. Hooray! MEGAN BURBANK
May 31, 8 pm, Helium Comedy Club, $12
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!
