Comedy that stands out

Adam Sank brings his comedic “Bash” to the Meatpacking District

By Will McKinley

It’s safe to say that Adam Sank is the only gay Jewish liberal to ever work at Fox News Channel and then quit to become a stand-up comedian. It’s also safe to say that he’s funny. And so are his friends.

Sank and six of his favorite gay and gay-friendly comics took to the stage on Wednesday night for the first installment of his monthly “Gay Bash” at Comix, the upscale comedy venue in the Meatpacking District.

Every comedian needs a hook, and most gay comics latch on to their sexual preference as a way to stand out (pun intended) from the crowd. But far too many don’t go beyond the obvious stereotypes. Sank does, and he seems to prefer comics with unique voices.

Opening act Jackie Monahan played an airhead on stage, but her punch lines were sharp.

“I hate parades,” she deadpanned. “But I can think of another Jackie in history who might hate parades more than I do.”

Monahan joked about how dating straight guys made her realize she was gay, adding, “You might be a lesbian if you’re attracted to Angelina Jolie. Just kidding. I say that to scare the straight girls.”

Next, William Mullin talked about his mother’s lifelong chain-smoking (“since she was a zygote”) and his own efforts to kick the habit.

“I quit smoking and then I went to Italy,” he said. “That’s like going on a diet and going to Hershey, Pennsylvania.”

Then Sank introduced “the mother of all comedians” Robin Fox. A stay-at-home mom from Jersey, Fox cracked wise about being a Mrs. for almost a quarter century.

“I’ve been married for so long because I hate to pack,” the forty-something quipped, launching into a tight set of witty punch lines about her husband, her age and her weight.

“If 40 is the new 30, why can’t chocolate be the new celery?” she asked. Fox seems to have found a niche with gay audiences who love her self-deprecating, angry middle-aged woman persona

“They’re just like any other audience,” she said. “A room full of men who don’t want to have sex with me.” (She didn’t actually say “have sex” but this is a family paper).

Next came Brad Loekle, a self-described “gay redneck” from the Catskill Mountains. Unlike a lot of other gay comics with horror stories about coming out, Loekle suggested that his pot-smoking truck driver dad might be just a bit too supportive of his lifestyle choice.

“So you’re telling me that for the rest of your life you’re gonna run around partying and drinking, sleeping with a different person every night?” Loekle quoted his father as saying. “Boy -- you’re livin’ the dream!”

Texas native Karith Foster had the audience in stitches with war stories about being black and dating Caucasian men.

“Even if I do marry a white guy, technically I’m brown and he’s peach,” she said. “So our kids would be beige.”

Headliner Jim David has been making both gay and straight audiences laugh for more than two decades, and his sharp political jabs were the perfect end to the “Bash.”

“President Bush outlined his post-war plan for Iraq,” he snarked. “And then he colored it in.”

But the funniest moment of the evening, at least for me, happened before the show even began. My waiter placed a cocktail napkin on my table, and I noticed that it had a name and phone number written on it. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t flattered.

“Opps!” he said apologetically, as he jammed the napkin into his pocket. “That’s mine.”

For a moment my feelings were hurt. Then I remembered something. I’m not gay. But maybe I should think about it. I might finally have that career in stand-up that I’ve always dreamed of.

For information on future performances of “Adam Sank’s Gay Bash” visit www.adamsank.com