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Comedy Central Presents

Ted Alexandro

Comedy Central · 2006

A laid-back set covering gym culture, public schools, and Boston Market.

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Ted Alexandro’s second half-hour for Comedy Central is built on slow-burn exasperation. Rather than shouting about his frustrations, he lets them simmer, picking apart the absurdities of daily life with a laid-back delivery that occasionally breaks into sudden physical movements. He questions the logic of fad diets that require eating asparagus, drinking water, and crying yourself to sleep, and mimics the imposing, pigeon-like strut of massive gym regulars asking each other if they’re working out “ass and head.”

Filmed for the tenth season of Comedy Central Presents and airing in March 2006, the set captures Alexandro as an established New York club fixture. Drawing on his background, he recounts his tenure as a public school music teacher and recalls his mother trying to pass off Boston Market as a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner by putting it on fine china. It is a low-key set that relies on specific details, like the family tension over whether to wash or throw away a plastic fork.

The set list

3 bits

  1. Recalling his time as a music teacher in New York City public schools

    Draws on his real-life classroom experiences teaching elementary school in Queens.

  2. Examining modern hip hop

    Breaks down and analyzes contemporary hip hop music.

  3. Explaining why President George W. Bush embarrasses him

    Delivers political commentary centered on President George W. Bush.

How it plays

Tone
Observational, political, and dry.
On stage
Deadpan, laid-back, and loose-limbed, pairing sharp observational joke-writing with physical comedy.
Pace
Laid back and loose-limbed.
About
New York City public school teaching, Modern hip hop, President George W. Bush, Politics

What the critics said

Lauded by critics for his sharp and urgent style, with The New York Times calling him one of the sharpest comics working today, a gifted political joke writer and loose-limbed, adventurous performer.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: paramountplus.com, grokipedia.com, dead-frog.com.

Backstory

Alexandro draws heavily from his prior five-year career working as an elementary music teacher for the New York City Board of Education in Queens.

Details

Released
Where
Comedy Central
Topics
Before
Comedy Central Presents (2001)
After
Senior Class of Earth (2018)

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