Emmy Award Winner W. Kamau Bell Returns to His Stand-Up Comedy Roots at Berkeley Rep
Berkeley Repertory Theatre has announced that Emmy Award winner and New York Times bestselling author W. Kamau Bell will return to his stand-up comedy roots after a five-year hiatus with “W. Kamau Bell Gets His Act Together,” a two-month Ground Floor residency at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Every Saturday from January 20 – March 16, 2024 (except February 3), Bell will take the stage at Berkeley Rep’s Bakery Studio at Berkeley Rep School of Theatre (2071 Addison St., Berkeley) to experiment with fresh material, comment on the day’s news, talk to the audience, and share new stories about his life and family, while he tries not to freak out about the upcoming election. The goal is that Bell gets a new tour to take around the country…and the hope is that whatever is left of America’s democracy survives into 2025.
Said Berkeley Rep Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer: “Kamau is one of the great storytellers of our time, and the chance to get to support his process as he crafts a new piece that speaks to and about this particular moment is a privilege and a thrill.”
“I couldn’t be more excited to get back into stand-up at Berkeley Rep,” says W. Kamau Bell. “For years I have attended incredibly powerful shows there, from Anna Deavere Smith’s “Notes From The Field” to “Passing Strange to An Octoroon.” And I was blown away and a little scared when they let me know they wanted to partner with me on “W. Kamau Bell Gets His Act Together,” a show that currently only exists in my mind and on the notes app on my phone. And the fact we are doing it in such a small and intimate space takes me back to my black box theatre days where my career finally came together. Also performing there means I might actually finally live out my dream of being Mike Birbiglia when I grow up.”
While he’s most recently been recognized as the host of CNN’s Emmy-winning show “United Shades of America” and a Peabody Award-winning director for his docuseries, “We Need to Talk About Cosby,” Bell has always considered himself a stand-up comedian at heart.
In “W. Kamau Bell Gets His Act Together,” the audience becomes a part of shaping the next chapter of Bell's comedic journey. This interactive engagement harkens back to the audience participation that fueled Bell's creation of The “W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour” and marked his triumphant return from New York with the “Home By Ten” shows in 2014. And who knows? There might even be some surprises and special guests along the way.
“W. Kamau Bell Gets His Act Together” is developed with Martha Rynberg. General admission tickets can be purchased online at berkeleyrep.org or by phone at 510-647-2949 (Tue–Sun, 12–7 p.m.).
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Photo caption: W. Kamau Bell (photo credit: Aundre Larrow)