4 up-and-coming NYC comedians to watch right now

Jessie Lee has been performing since she was eight years old. She grew up doing regional theater in Miami and watching Chris Farley and Mike Myers movies—it was love at first sight. After attending a performing arts middle and high school, Lee went on to study theater at Florida State University. When comedian Zainab Johnson was set to perform at the school, Lee herself got a big break: “I don’t know what came over me,” Lee says, “but I emailed her and was like, ‘Hey, I’m such a huge fan. I’d love to get a coffee with you.’" Johnson responded by inviting Lee to open for her show. She had never performed stand-up, but when she got her first big laugh, she knew she’d be back. Now, Lee’s favorite place to perform is Union Hall, where she cohosts a monthly show called “Love That.” There’s something infectious about Lee’s performance—she’s exactly who she presents to be and yet every punchline comes out of nowhere. When she’s not performing around the city, she’s making viral videos playing a slew of characters; one of her best is a middle-aged woman named Sharon who loves to dance. She’s also a pro at impressions and can transition seamlessly between Jennifer Coolidge, Britney Spears and Kamala Harris all delivering the line “you shaved your bush.” 

What’s the funniest thing about your life right now?

When I get noticed on the street, people yell out the viral video they remember me from. I’ll be walking to the train and have a stranger yell out of their car “IKEA girl!” or “you shaved your bush!”

The one joke that always lands: Singing to my dying grandpa. I don’t want to give too much away, but that is kinda the thesis of the joke.

Catch Jessie Lee at her monthly show, “Love That,” at Union Hall, and follow her on Instagram and TikTok.

Maddie Wiener is something of a prodigy when it comes to stand-up. She started the art form as a teenager after spending her childhood as a theater and improv kid in North Carolina. “After three months of doing it every night,” she says, “I made these friends and we were like, ‘Oh, I guess we do this now.’” At 16 years old, hanging around a lot of divorced dads, Wiener became a mainstay at Goodnights Comedy Club in Raleigh and managed to get on stage most nights of the week. Wiener’s newer sets are supercharged with knee-slappers about everything from body positivity (“We should just let people be ugly”) to gender identity (“I’ve got a little they/them bubbling up in me, but I’m more lazy than I am trans, so it’s at a standstill”). When people compare comedians to modern day philosophers, Wiener is the kind of comic to which they refer. 

What’s the funniest thing about your life right now?

I got prescribed Klonopin and then I got worried that it would make my anxiety worse. I might be the first person ever Klonopin gave a panic attack to. I think my anxiety was so strong that it broke through the Klonopin. And looking back, that’s hilarious to me.

The one joke that always lands: I hope this doesn’t sound like a pretentious answer, but I think once you really are like, “This one can never fail,” then you’re sort of fucked because I think the audience can sense that you have this energy of, “This is about to crush,” and then it’s off-putting.

Maddie Wiener made her late-night debut last year on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and has filmed sets for Comedy Central and Don’t Tell Comedy. She joined Saturday Night Live as a writer during Season 51, and performs everywhere from Bar Bayeux to the Comedy Cellar, where she just taped her first special. She’s a regular at the Comedy Cellar and Union Hall, and you can follow her on Instagram.

Max Higgins got his start in stand-up just four years ago at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington. What brought him to the stage was a combination of encouragement from a college English professor and the pain and rebirth of a good old-fashioned breakup. “The thing about the breakup is, I think deep in my heart I knew I was gonna transition,” he says. “One of the first jokes I did when I came out was ‘How soon after a breakup is too soon to transition?’” Since embarking on stand-up, Higgins has moved to New York and now performs all around the city, often mining his transition for content. “I used to be a straight woman. Sorry, I talk about being a woman the way people talk about studying abroad,” he quips in one of his sets. His observational humor about the trans experience has the clear perspective of a former (but self-aware) English major. You can catch Higgins performing jokes about the divisive jam band Phish or comparing himself to Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams. He’s been relishing his newfound boyhood by making a lot of high protein desserts.

What’s the funniest thing about your life right now?

I am dating for the first time since transitioning. I never actually had to “put myself out there” because I was a 20-year-old woman into older guys—I just had to stand in one place for a few minutes. So I’m learning dating from scratch. Now I’m just a guy who knows a lot about the ‘80s. 

The one joke that always lands: Do you know what color analysis is? Well, if you don’t, it’s where a stylist holds up your favorite color and tells you why you cannot wear it anymore. The heart of the joke is that I find out I’m a soft autumn, apparently, and I was just like, “No, I’m not. I’m a man. I’m whatever navy blue is.”

Catch Max Higgins at clubs across NYC, and follow him on Instagram.

To call what Richard Perez does “performance art” might undermine the comedic genius in all of his work. But even Perez will admit that his style is far from traditional. “I don’t have a setup, punchline sort of thing,” he says. “A lot of what I do is fooling around with the room.” Perez has an affinity for crowdwork, but does it in a way that takes the onus off of the audience members—he doesn’t need the audience to be funny for his jokes to work. And for even the most participation averse (yes, it’s me) he makes it an enjoyable experience. These days, he is primarily performing his two solo shows around various New York City venues. One of them, titled I Have To Do This, is a pantomimed series of vignettes in which he tells a story of love and partnership. His other, more interactive show, For One Night, Okay, incorporates cabaret and crowdwork, Zohran and Rama Mamdani fan fiction, and, if you’re lucky, might even involve a simulated wedding. He’s also an actor having played the role of Morgh in Charli XCX’s satirical film The Moment.

What’s the funniest thing about your life right now?

Recently my friends showed me “Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley, and on my TikTok feed I’ve been getting Stella Lefty, so there’s this country wave. I’ve been joking around, creating a character that’s a cartoon of what either of them would be like in the studio writing a song. I’m just picturing Ella being like [in a very high-pitched cartoonish voice] “That’s a damn good lyric! We gotta write that one down! Yee haw! Pow pow!” She has a gun and she shoots the ceiling as drywall is falling on top of her head. So if there’s a way to transpose that… haha. 

The one joke that always lands: My roller coaster scene from my solo show, I Have To Do This. I bring this person who I am entering into a budding relationship with to New Jersey Six Flags Great Adventure. I’m acting out my first time on a roller coaster. I’m with this phantom lover and I’m pantomiming going on this rollercoaster ride and it’s building up. When the big drop comes, I faint. The scene ends with me saying “Wow, I’ve never felt so close to you,” and then we make out. But you’ll have to see it to believe it. 

Catch Perez during one of his regular shows at Union Hall or at the Gramery Theatre on October 6, and follow him on Instagram and TikTok.