Jon Stewart is officially on Broadway.
The Daily Show host made his debut on the Great White Way Friday night, in a new stage production from former Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich.
All Out: Comedy About Ambition is described as a companion piece to last year’s All In: Comedy About Love. Like its predecessor, the show is built around live readings of Rich’s New Yorker short stories—this time exploring “ego, envy, greed, and basically just New Yorkers in general.”
The limited engagement is running for 12 weeks, featuring a rotating lineup of comedians performing in multiweek blocks. Stewart co-stars in the first rotation, through December 21, alongside Abbi Jacobson, Eric Andre, and Ike Barinholtz.
Watch Stewart take his first curtain call down below.
Saturday Night Live alum Heidi Gardner will make her own Broadway debut when she joins the cast from January 20 to February 15, performing opposite Jason Mantzoukas, Craig Robinson, and Sarah Silverman.
Gardner’s run begins just two days after fellow SNL vet Cecily Strong wraps her own, December 29-January 18 stint in the production, continuing her streak of stage work that includes Brooklyn Laundry and The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life.
All Out takes a cue from All In, which last year served as a place for stars making their Broadway bows. Among them was Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon—in a brief but memorable run that even earned him a portrait at Sardi’s.
The rotating roster for All Out will also feature Ray Romano, Jim Gaffigan, Mike Birbiglia, Nicholas Braun, Ben Schwartz, and Wayne Brady. The band Lawrence provides live music. Tickets are on sale now.
Now that “All Out” has premiered, I’m very curious what the audience reception will be to the show, especially since the marketing has become more transparent about the true format of the play. Being the successor to the stumbling debut of “All In”, maybe “All Out” can resonate better with lessons carried from the former, especially with the more interesting lineup in the rotation.
Now tying that into the subject at hand, Stewart, I’m very happy he can dabble back into acting without too much burden (given his track record of movie roles he so frequently brings up for self-deprecating purposes) , not to mention I luv that his look fits very well w/the 70s retro corporate vibes of the production design. And as someone who cannot afford NYC this moment, I can at least appreciate the aesthetics All Out is striving for~
Also, correct me after looking into specifics, but technically between Stewart and Colbert, it’s wild that the former made it to Broadway first before the latter (who was technically in a Broadway show but the performance was held in Lincoln Center)
Also, also, I know the Ed Sullivan theater is already on Broadway, but the venue was adapted for televised shows a la Late Show, so I would luv to see Colbert take on a role in a theatrical production currently running on Broadway in the future~