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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy
Cover image credit: Thumbnail: YouTube · Natasha Vaynblat

We're All Dads Here

Natasha Vaynblat

YouTube · 2024 · 55 min

A poised argument for why everyone should be the dad.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Natasha Vaynblat wants the perks of fatherhood without the biological toll of maternity. Recorded at Union Hall in Brooklyn, her debut special frames adoption as the perfect loophole—a way for both partners to secure the role of dad while avoiding the physical changes of pregnancy.

The special, which initially debuted as an audio album in late 2023 before its YouTube video release in April 2024, captures Vaynblat at a transitional point in her career. A former writer for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she spent the era weighing her ambivalence toward motherhood, a theme she would continue to develop in her subsequent solo shows.

On stage, Vaynblat leans into a poised style of storytelling that easily shifts from observational humor to absurdity. She details her decade-long marriage, her childhood emigrating from Russia after the Soviet collapse, and her parents’ baffling interactions with American culture, like trying to pick fights with locals over the weather. She relies on dry writing and a willingness to get weird, at one point mimicking a coworker secretly eating carne asada on a Zoom call.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Russian and American cultural differences, including her parents arguing about the weather and getting into house music

    Contrasting cultural mindsets and slipping into thick Russian accents.

  2. Workout class veracity guessing game

    A playful call-and-response routine testing the audience's ability to distinguish real odd fitness classes from fake ones.

  3. Living in New York City and rat infestations

    Reflecting on how city living rewires residents to the point of envying a man living with 600 rats.

  4. Sneakily guzzling carne asada out of a mug on a Zoom call

    Physical act-out depicting discreet eating habits during remote meetings.

  5. The virtues of everyone wanting to be dads and butts being mouths

    Absurdist premises delivered with straight-faced conviction without breaking.

How it plays

Tone
Silly, searingly smart, absurd, and cheeky.
On stage
Composed and knowing with a calm and collected demeanor that shifts into silly character voices, thick Russian accents, and unapologetic goofiness.
Pace
Smoothly poised rhythm and cadence, economically worded jokes, and a droll delivery that rapidly packs setups and misdirects.
About
Russian vs. American culture and traditions, Life in New York City and the subway, Rats and restaurant ratings, Aging into her 30s, Family life and marriage of 10 years, Dangers of coffee

What the critics said

Praised by critics as silly and searingly smart, highlighting her writerly precision, economic wordplay, and deft blend of composure and goofiness.

In the room: Participatory and receptive, engaging in call-and-response guessing games.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: astrecords.com, pastemagazine.com, ucbcomedy.com, vulture.com, natashavaynblat.com, thecomedybureau.com.

Backstory

Emigrated from Russia at age seven, lived in New York City for a decade, and married for ten years; touches on aging into her 30s and reconciling Russian roots with American life.

Details

Released
Taped
Union Hall, Brooklyn
Runtime
55 min
Where
YouTube
Honors
Paste Magazine's Best Albums of 2023Vulture/NY Mag's '5 Standup Specials To Watch Right Now'
Topics

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