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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

The New York Story

Colin Quinn

Netflix · 2016 · 62 min

Colin Quinn charts how centuries of miserable immigrants built New York's swagger.

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Colin Quinn is not mourning New York City so much as he is calling it soft. On a stage styled like a nostalgic Greenwich Village alleyway, he traces how centuries of miserable immigrants combined to form the aggressive New York attitude—and how modern gentrification and forced positivity are threatening to dilute it. Filmed at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Manhattan and directed by Jerry Seinfeld, the special adapted material from Quinn’s book The Coloring Book. Coming on the heels of his turn in the movie Trainwreck and his previous historical solo shows, this performance focuses his skeptical lens entirely on his hometown. He riffs on the British taking over from the Dutch, explains how Jewish real estate choices revived abandoned buildings, and laments that the site of Nathan Hale’s hanging now houses a Starbucks. There is also an enduring bit about the mutual disrespect between New York pedestrians and drivers, with people on foot treating the streets like their personal living rooms while cars halt in submissive panic.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Dutch influence on New York language and vocabulary.

    Points out that words like Brooklyn, stoop, Yankees, and even vulgarities trace back to the Dutch, meaning sitting on a stoop yelling 'fucking Yankees' is essentially speaking Dutch.

  2. The Disneyfication and cleanup of New York City.

    Recalls the high crime of the 1970s and notes that after demanding Rudy Giuliani clean up the city, New Yorkers complained he went too far and had OCD.

  3. Puerto Rican cultural impact on New York.

    Highlights how Puerto Ricans travel in vibrant groups and effectively transformed brownstone stoops into an extra room.

  4. Why tourists visit New York City.

    Argues that tourists travel to the city not for standard landmarks like Times Square, but to experience New Yorkers themselves.

  5. Attempting to tell a traditional Polish joke amidst contemporary linguistic sensitivities.

    Deconstructs the joke before ever reaching the punchline by debating whether specifying nationality, gender, or orientation is acceptable.

How it plays

Tone
Affectionate, witty, nostalgic, and satirical.
On stage
Classic New York storyteller and unpretentious comic who eschews cheap mimicry for subtle vocal and physical shifts.
Pace
Steady narrative momentum combining the rapid joke cadence of stand-up with theatrical staging across tenement and street sets.
About
New York City history, Immigration waves and ethnic stereotypes, Linguistic evolution, Modern sensitivity versus candor in comedy

What the critics said

Appraised as an engaging, warm, and sharp history lesson that succeeds through Quinn's affection for the city and subtle, generous characterizations rather than mean-spirited caricatures.

In the room: Audible laughter from a theatrical crowd, with Jerry Seinfeld consciously choosing never to cut visually to laughing audience faces.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: vulture.com, allmovie.com, themoviedb.org, nytimes.com, exclaim.ca, huffpost.com, en.wikipedia.org, decider.com, tvinsider.com.

Backstory

Based on Quinn's book 'The Coloring Book: A Comedian Solves Race Relations in America' and his upbringing in Park Slope, Brooklyn, chronicling 400 years of New York City immigration.

Details

Released
Taped
Schimmel Center, New York City
Runtime
62 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Jerry Seinfeld
Topics
Before
Unconstitutional (2015)
After
Red State Blue State (2019)

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