February 28, 2024
Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Sipa USA
Haddonfield native Jena Friedman will perform stand-up at Underground Arts on Monday, April 8.
South Jersey native Jena Friedman has made a name for herself in the comedy world, earning an Oscar nomination and starring in a Peacock special. She'll soon return close to home with a show in Philly.
Friedman will headline the event at Underground Arts on Monday, April 8, as part of her spring tour. Tickets, which start at $25 plus fees, can be purchased online.
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Friedman graduated from Haddonfield Memorial High School before attending Northwestern University in Chicago. In college, she studied anthropology and became interested in comedy when she spent two semesters embedded in Chicago's female improv community for a senior-year project.
Not long after her interest was sparked in comedy, Friedman graduated and briefly began working as a health-care consultant. Her itch to perform wasn't gone, though, so she started writing stand-up and performing her set wherever she could. She eventually left her day job to pursue a full-time career in comedy.
I’m going on tour and I might just be working out my new hour in a city near you… join us! pic.twitter.com/Wm0RyuI8CF
— Jena Friedman (@JenaFriedman) February 26, 2024
That decision clearly paid off. Throughout her career, the 41-year-old has performed stand-up on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and "Conan." She was also a field producer on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." She is the host of the crime series "Indefensible" on AMC Plus, the creator of "Soft Focus" on Adult Swim and appeared in the movie "Palm Springs" on Hulu.
Friedman's writing credits include ABC series "The Conners," "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," for which she earned an Academy Award nomination in 2021. Last year, she published her debut essay collection, "Not Funny," which explores modern hot topics like cancel culture, sexism, work and celebrity worship.
Friedman performed at Underground Arts in 2022, with a show that she described as "an hour of dark, feminist stand-up comedy." At the time, she said she was working on material for an upcoming streaming special. She was likely referring to her Peacock special, "Ladykiller," which brings levity to difficult topics affecting American women, from crime to reproductive rights.
According to a social media post by Friedman, it seems she may have something new in the works for audiences on her tour.
"I might just be working out my new hour in a city near you … join us!," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
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