The Winner - Suzanne Whang

The Andy Award Contest Finals
(part of the New York Comedy Festival)
Thursday 11th @ 8PM
Carolines

or
Carolines disses John Pelham and he writes about it anway.
or
We called, we emailed, we wrote. Wasn't there anyone minding the store?

By John Pelham

Even though I flashed my NewYorkCool.com press pass/business card, I was
forced to pay the $10 cover charge. You know, I thought I could get into any
place with that magnitude of authority, but apparently, if you’re not on the
press list once you get to Caroline’s on Broadway, (as my dad says) you’re
S.O.L.

This evening of which some call “comedy”, was the final round of The Andy
Kaufman Awards, hosted by Richard Belzer from Law & Order: SVU.
I found my friends amidst the crowd and immediately ordered myself a
pineapple cosmopolitan. (I hear alcohol is a necessary tradition for the New
York Cool staff to fully experience the “Nightlife” or “About Town”
engagements).

Anyway, I was thrilled to see last Monday’s ten finalists perform; this
time, to a much larger audience and much higher energy. With judges like
Tony Danza, Andy Kaufman’s father, NBC casting directors, and Caroline
herself, the pressure was on.

Alex Dunbar (who, in my previous article, we referred to as “my old friend
from college”) was the premiere act. Dressed as Jesus, he told offensive
spiritual jokes and then proceeded to have conversations with his parents
(none other than an omnipresent voice of God, pre-recorded, then played on
the loudspeaker).

Eric Schwartz did his routine Jewish rap numbers which brought the house
down.

Kristen Schall executed her hilarious I’m-a-sweet-innocent-teen-turned-slut-addicted-to-reefer monologue.

Peanut Butter undeniably captured Andy Kaufman’s essence. He staged an act
where an audience member shouted accusations and obscenities in the middle
of his stand-up. The rest of the audience was left not knowing whether to
shit or go blind (another of my dad’s phrases, thank you very much). The
chaos continued as certain spectators yelled at the perpetrator to keep
quiet.

I must say, some of the real comedians of the night were the two
80-year-olds at the table next to us. The reasons are three-fold: A) the
elder raised her hand when asked if anyone was on crack. B) they would
whisper things into each other’s ears—and by whisper, I mean scream. C) she
would shout things to the people on stage, but yell “quiet” to anyone else
who dared mutter a word. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud…and then she
scolded me.

The deserving $7,500 winner of the evening was Suzanne Whang (who, by the
way, is a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend). She has perfected an
act of a timid first-time Asian comedian. Whang plays every joke at the
right moment, knowing exactly what and when the response will be; but at the
same time, she improvises when the need may emerge. An emotional family was
supportive of Whang as her name was announced and she proudly accepted her
award and oversized check.

The night was over and the waiter asked me if I wanted my second beverage.
“There’s a two drink minimum,” he tells me. I’m half broke but I’m also a
law-abiding citizen, so I order the least expensive thing on the menu, “a
Pepsi please.” Don’t worry, my dad also taught me to be cheap.

www.suzannewhang.com
www.sungheepark.com