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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Party Nights

Emmy Blotnick

800 Pound Gorilla · Album · 2019 · 60 min

A charming inventory of modern anxiety and pop culture obsessions.

Emmy Blotnick introduces herself as a “self potato” (a phrase cribbed from a famously wrong answer on Wheel of Fortune) and proceeds to trace the boundaries of her own mild-mannered, highly specific neuroses. Instead of projecting a standard comedian’s bravado, she leans heavily into her own social awkwardness. She talks about the heavy artillery of sleep accessories she needs to function, from weighted blankets to night guards, and details her strange attempts to trick the Amazon suggestion algorithm into thinking she is a cooler person.

Released as an audio album by 800 Pound Gorilla Records in May 2019, the material also served as Blotnick’s solo hour at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe later that summer. At that point in her career, she was primarily known as an industry-favorite writer, having written for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and served as head writer for Comedy Central’s The President Show.

Much of the hour revolves around a quiet awe of pop culture. Blotnick walks through her obsession with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, takes a humiliating Beyoncé-themed dance class, and recounts a surreal New York bar mitzvah that paid Nicki Minaj several hundred thousand dollars to make an appearance. Her delivery is polite and low-key, but her jokes are built with a writer’s eye for modern oddities, painting a picture of an introvert trying to survive a world that is much too loud.

The set list

7 bits

  1. Nicki Minaj at a Bar Mitzvah (The Human Menorah)

    Recounts how Nicki Minaj was paid $400,000 to attend a New York City bar mitzvah and posed flanked by eight 13-year-old boys, using that 'human menorah' as an analogy for her own comedic identity.

  2. Unlikely Spirit Guides

    Examines her search for guidance through unexpected role models like Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Beyoncé, André 3000, and Swedish pop songwriter Max Martin.

  3. First bra-fitting at age 31

    Relates the awkward personal experience of going for her very first bra fitting in her thirties.

  4. Self-help book addiction and affirmations

    Explores her compulsive habit of listening to guided meditations, reading self-help books, and practicing affirmations to manage life's discomforts.

  5. Amazon product-clicking segment

    Examines internet shopping habits and the items she browses, puncturing her claims of being uncool.

  6. Disastrous flight to Australia

    Recounts the comic ordeal and chaos of an ill-fated flight journey to Australia.

  7. Salma Hayek impersonation

    Executes an accurate vocal and behavioral impersonation of Salma Hayek.

How it plays

Tone
Upbeat, witty, self-deprecating, honest, comforting, and joyous.
On stage
Charming, open, relaxed, quirky, and cool, projecting an unabashed excitement and infectious giddiness masked behind a seemingly modest and reserved exterior.
Pace
Smooth, upbeat delivery narrated with a smile, maintaining a relaxed approach to comedic structure without an overt build to a traditional climax.
About
anxiety and neurosis, depression, pop culture and divas, self-help books and guided meditations, gender and modern womanhood, internet shopping

What the critics said

Praised as a witty, magnetic, charming, and upbeat debut hour that balances self-deprecating neurosis and pop-culture riffs with an infectious throughline of joy and genuine honesty.

In the room: Warm and engaging; Blotnick interacts comfortably with audience members in an open, natural manner without breaking momentum.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: comedy.co.uk, theatreweekly.com, theweereview.com, fastcompany.com, thecomedybureau.com, emmyblotnick.com, allmusic.com.

Backstory

Personal material focused on navigating neurosis, depression, anxiety, life in New York, and insecurities as a woman in Western society.

Details

Released
Runtime
60 min
Where
800 Pound Gorilla (album)
Topics
After
What's Her Secret? (2026)

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