Hari Kondabolu brings his new comedy special “Vacation Baby” to Charleston May 15 with two hours of stand-up, which he called a “list of demands with punchlines.”
Kondabolu is a Queens-raised Brooklyn-based comedian and writer with a list of impressive credits to his name, including performances on Comedy Central, Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Late Show with David Letterman. He’s been described by The New York Times as “one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up.”
He’s previously released two chart-topping comedy albums, a Netflix comedy special and more. Kondabolu is perhaps best known for his critically acclaimed 2017 documentary The Problem with Apu. Centered around the stereotypical East Indian cartoon character on The Simpsons (who has since been removed from the series), the documentary started a conversation about race and representation which continues to this day.
Kondabolu’s Charleston performance includes his newest comedy special Vacation Baby plus one hour of brand-new material. It’s his second visit to Charleston after a 2019 performance at Theatre 99, and he said he’s excited to be back. This time, he’ll take the stage at the Charleston Music Hall.
In Vacation Baby, Kondabulo talks about his experience as a new father. He said this special punctuates a moment of artistic growth, as he explores very personal topics alongside the political comedy he’s known for.
“I’m going to be talking about the big issues, whether that’s police brutality or transphobia or, you know, just kind of criticizing how capitalism works in this country.
“Vacation Baby, it has an element of being personal, but is also how I feel about the world and what I want to change.”
Comedic critiques
Kondabolu is no stranger to criticism for his brand of political humor — he even received death threats after The Problem with Apu. Six years after the film premiered, Kondabolu reflected on the “pros and cons” of that experience.
“I feel like the conversation I had to start was useful to a lot of people. The documentary is used in college classrooms and high school classrooms. It has a value I certainly didn’t anticipate when I made it. It certainly made a bigger imprint than I expected. So I’m grateful for the fact that I contributed to a conversation I value, and that it really resonated with people.
“But at the same time, I’m not particularly happy with the kind of negativity I still get around it, especially from people who haven’t seen it.”
Kondabolu said many of his criticisms came from people who used the film as an excuse to complain about “political correctness gone wild.
“This was just another thing that they could bring up to say ‘everyone’s too sensitive; everyone’s a snowflake’ as opposed to watching the thing and coming up with reasons to disagree with it.”
Kondabolu said most people don’t know he’s developed a friendship with The Simpsons creator Hank Azria, who even appeared in a recent promotion for Vacation Baby.
“The conversation I’ve had with [Azira] is very different from the conversation that’s happening publicly, and that’s because he’s put a lot of work into thinking about the issues I brought up.”
“[People also miss] the fact that I’m a Simpsons fan! It’s one of the big influences on my comedy. The idea that I don’t ‘get the show,’ or I don’t know what it’s about, it’s like, no, that’s the thing — I try to make it nuanced. This from the perspective of somebody who loves the show and also feels weird about the fact that this character really kind of painted what my community looked like for the longest time.”
When asked what he would advise his younger self early in his comedy career, Kondabolu said he would go back and tell himself to develop a thick skin.
“When you’re going out there and trying to be honest about how you feel about the world, it means that a lot of people will disagree with you. And it’s completely worth it, because the laughter you get and the joy you bring by far outnumbers the feeling you have when people are being terrible.
“Every time I’m on stage, it’s still this wonderful feeling that I’m performing for a bunch of friends I haven’t met yet. That’s what it feels like. We’re not friends yet, but I feel like we’re going to be because we’re resonating.”
To purchase tickets, visit CharlestonMusicHall.com
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