The New York Arab American Comedy Festival Turns 20

Tiffany Hanssen: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. I'm Tiffany Hanssen filling in for Brian, who is out today. Now we'll wrap the show by looking at the upcoming Arab American Comedy Festival. This Sunday is the festival. It's back with its 20th-anniversary celebration tour at Town Hall featuring a variety of recognizable comedians. Their goal is to "build empathy and understanding through the power of laughter."

I think we can all agree that empathy and understanding is desperately needed right now. Joining us to talk about that and provide a sneak peek into the festival is Dean Obeidallah, who is the comedian and co-founder of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival, and host of The Dean Obeidallah Show on SiriusXM. Hi, Dean.

Dean Obeidallah: Hi, Tiffany. Thanks for having me on.

Tiffany Hanssen: Absolutely. Listeners, we want to take your questions for Dean as well. Do you have questions about how to laugh in hard times? I'm sure we're going to bring that up with Dean. Also, do you have a question or comment in particular about Arab American comedians? You can call us, 212-433-9692, 433-WNYC, you can also text that number. Dean, let's talk about-- you're celebrating the 20th anniversary of this festival. Take us back to the origins. What prompted you to start it?

Dean Obeidallah: Well, myself and Maysoon Zayid, my good friend, another comedian, the co-founder of the festival, I met her a short time before 9/11. I was doing comedy for a few years, not full-time, but doing comedy in the clubs here in New York and at the open mics. I met her at an open mic before 9/11. After 9/11, we started talking about can we do some shows with Arab American comedians to try to show who we are.

The problem is we didn't know any other Arab American comedians, so we had to go out and find them. After doing a few shows, we said, "Let's do a festival." The whole goal of the festival from day one, it was probably the only festival in America that was founded in a reaction to a horrific terrorist attack on US soil, 9/11, and the backlash against our community as a result.

We said, "Let's do something fun." We have comedy, we have some great comics, we had some sketches in the early years, and trying to tell our story in a way that was authentic and accurate, which in the media at the time, a lot of negativity. Tiffany, you might remember 20 years ago, not too much positive stuff about us. That was the goal. It really was an activist project and the goal also to inspire others in our community to try the arts because everyone who's the child of an immigrant, like myself, our parents want us to be doctors, lawyers, and engineers.

I did become a lawyer, but then I gave it up. The idea of getting the arts seemed not a normal path or an accessible path for people in our community, and our festival, we'd hoped, and I'm proud to say it has been a way to incentivize people to take a chance, to do comedy, do sketch comedy.

Tiffany Hanssen: Well, you talk about how the September 11 attacks and the perceptions around Arab Americans was an impetus for starting this festival. I'm curious about how it affected you internally. The Times quoted you as saying, "On September 10th, I went to sleep as a white guy. On September 11th, I woke up as an Arab." For you personally, how did it affect your comedy?

Dean Obeidallah: It affected my life beyond my comedy. My comedy reflects who I am. That statement there is something, it's a simple way of saying how my life changed that dramatically. Pre 9/11, I really was a white guy. Yes, I'm Arab, and my dad is a Palestinian immigrant. I have Arab cousins. I knew that. My connections and friends were all white. They all have names like Monica and Chandler and Joey, and I grew up in North Jersey, where in Lodi, my mom is Italian and my dad is Arab.

I grew up in Lodi, New Jersey, where there were two ethnic groups. You were either Italian or my dad. Everyone I knew was Italian American, generally white American. 9/11 happened and in the months that followed, all of a sudden I started getting bombarded with questions. I started seeing demonization of people who were in my community, who I wasn't even part of the community, but wrongful smears and hate.

It brought my heritage out of me. I got more in touch with my heritage. I also got more in touch with being Muslim in the years after 9/11 because of defending both my faith and my ethnicity. That was a big part. My transformation as a human being and now I identify as a minority unapologetically, very proud to be a minority. I view the world through the prism of being a minority. As my world changed, my comedy reflected that.

It talked about that transition on stage. I've talked about the world of navigating in a post-9/11 world. There were good times and there've been challenging times and times that was okay. Now we're in a very difficult time with the war in the Middle East, we're seeing a backlash against our community again. It makes it more important than ever we think to do the comedy festival now to make people laugh. People in our community are going through difficult times and have a cathartic night of healing we hope.

Tiffany Hanssen: You talked about the goals of the festival and its role in combating bigotry and the negative media portrayals you're talking about. What is it specifically about humor, about laughter that is that soothing balm you're talking about? What is it specifically about humor that can help us heal, do you think?

Dean Obeidallah: I think there's two parts to comedy that are very unique. One is when you're trying to get people outside of your community, people not on your side, let's say to hear your story. Well, if they'll come to a comedy show [unintelligible 00:05:43] sure, I'll come there. Then when they're watching the show, I slip in my little message. That's the goal, Tiffany. On one way, if I was doing a lecture on, let's say, Arab Americans, it's going to self-select.

You're going to have people who are generally on your side, people from your community will be there already. Comedy does bring other people. I think within our community and the few years after 9/11, I remember the crowds in the community laughing in a very cathartic way. People came up to me after shows and would say, "Thank you." I didn't understand what they meant.

I'm like, "Okay. Sure." Then I realized for them, we were doing a service. We were telling the story they were living through on stage for others, but they were laughing and having fun. Communities need that through difficult times. That's where I think comedy plays that great role, is being soothing and also a great way to bring people together. I've done a show for a long time with my good friend Scott Blakeman called Standup for Peace.

He's Jewish, I'm Arab. We performed at colleges over the years. Again, here is his vehicle, it's standup comedy. You come out, you laugh, you learn a little bit more about Jewish Americans, you learn more about Arab Americans, Muslim Americans all through this vehicle that is joyful. Yet at the same time, deceivingly, I'm slipping information, Tiffany. That's my goal. I'm slipping in knowledge for people about who we are in every joke.

Tiffany Hanssen: We've been talking specifically about 9/11 in the interim 20 years. A lot has gone on that would affect your comedy, wars in the Middle East, the current war between Israel and Hamas, travel bans. I'm wondering, as you look back, not specifically relating to 9/11 and the post 9/11 experience in the comedy world, but even more recently, are things better, worse, the same?

Dean Obeidallah: I think it's changed. It's evolved. As I mentioned earlier, and I wasn't kidding, in the years right after 9/11 when we tried to do this festival, we would beg Arab American actors and actresses who were a little funny just to be in the show because we didn't have enough professional level comedians. Now there are so many Arab American comedians.

It is such a high bar in terms of the comedy. We have to reject people coming in. I think the comedy of the comedians has evolved. In the early years, it was so much about we're just like you, hey, we're fellow Americans too. Don't attack us. Literally don't beat us up. That was the message. Then it evolved and became more confident, more emboldened. We began challenging things like George Bush's policies, the Patriot Act, the so-called War on Terror.

Under Obama, it was a little bit more freeing. We had fun. Under Trump, it was very difficult. Trump had the Muslim ban, which applies to anyone who was brown and the demonization of our communities manifested in hate crimes. I think our community was more mature then. We weren't as alone. That shows in the comedy. That's why the comedy now, there are Arab American comics who don't talk about being Arab American anymore.

They don't feel the need to. They just talk about everyday life like every other comic. Often it's through the prism of being Arab American that makes it unique. That's why the show Sunday at Town Hall in New York City is a unique show. You're not going to see this anywhere else because the comics have this unique point of view. There's some [inaudible 00:08:54] Ramy Youssef from Ramy, show on Hulu. He's a Golden Globe winner. We just announced today he's joining us. He'll be on stage with us.

Tony Shalhoub, well-known Arab American actor. He's not doing standup, but we're going to interview him at the top of the show. He shares a different generation's point of view of what he went through and what we've all gone through. I think comedy and the arts are-- now more and more of us are getting into it, but we need more. Every minority community knows this, Tiffany, the arts, entertainment media, news media, are a way to tell your community's story. We always need more voices from our communities to tell our authentic story in an accurate and honest way.

Tiffany Hanssen: We've talked about this from the comedian lens. You're a comedian. That also means you're very in tune with your audience. I'm curious how you've seen the audience reaction evolve over this same period?

Dean Obeidallah: I think they've become more demanding, which is good. In the beginning, anything that was funny for Arab-- let's say the audience was mostly Arab American in the beginning. It's become more and more diverse over the years, but I think as the level of comedy has gone up, they've become more demanding, both the Arab Americans and people from outside of our community. It's almost 50/50 at a lot of our shows now of Arab Americans and people from other communities, minority communities, a lot of white progressives who listen to WNYC come out, which is great. I say that with all sincerity, they do. They want really fun stuff. They're not going to give you points for just breaking stereotypes anymore. It's got to be good. It's got to be funny, and that's important. That's why the level of comedy has gone up. It's ratcheted up with the demands of the audience, and the audience should be demanding. You should want really good comedy. I believe we deliver, and I'm really proud of the content in the festival Sunday and [crosstalk] tour.

Tiffany Hanssen: Give us the details here in the last 30 seconds for Sunday's show.

Dean Obeidallah: Arabcomedy.com is the website. We're doing one big show at Town Hall, Sunday night. Special guests, Tony Shalhoub and Ramy Youssef, Maysoon Zayid, my good friend, is in it. Dave Merheje, Atheer Yacoub, and other great comics. It's a lot of fun and we're donating the net proceeds to [unintelligible 00:11:03] which provides humanitarian relief for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Tiffany Hanssen: Wonderful.

Dean Obeidallah: It's a great show and it's a benefit at the same time.

Tiffany Hanssen: Excellent. Thanks for all the info. Dean Obeidallah, comedian and co-founder of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival. Sunday's show is at Town Hall. You can go to arabcomedy.com for all the details about tickets. I'm Tiffany Hanssen, been filling in for Brian Lehrer today. He'll be back on Monday. Thanks so much for listening and have a great weekend, everybody.

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