SHOW RECAP: Come To Papa with Tom Papa, Live at SF Sketchfest

Jared Stossel

Come To Papa w/ Tom Papa
feat. Matt Braunger, Natasha Leggero, Todd Barry, Matt Besser, Rick Krom
Cobb's Comedy Club
San Francisco, CA
January 20, 2017

Written by Jared Stossel

I've always wanted to start a piece of writing this way:

It was a dark and stormy night. 

HAH. Yes. Alright, now onto the recap...but really, it was very dark and stormy outside. A bit fitting given everything that went on in the political world on January 20, 2017 here in the United States. But like a beacon of hope, the sign for Cobb's Comedy Club beckoned comedy fans from across the Bay Area into the warmth and out of the rain. I sipped on a decaf coffee from the bar, and proceeded to escape from the darkness outside, both metaphorically and physically. 

What better way to get out of the darkness than with a live show? Come To Papa, the live radio show hosted by none other than comedian Tom Papa, made its stop at this year's SF Sketchfest. Cobb's is an intimate, yet, large, comedy club in the San Francisco Bay Area, making it the perfect setting for a show of this nature.

The show began with an introduction from Papa himself, before welcoming his announcer, Rick Crom, onto the stage to kick off the show. Come To Papa, at its very core, is a fun a radio show that celebrates comedy. Plain and simple. It includes stand-up sets from all of the featured guests on said episode, sketches that are performed by all members of the ensemble, and even some humorous fake commercials thrown into the mix, all in front of a live audience. 

The hilarious Matt Braunger took the stage first, with a good deal of material focusing around the new President of the United States (most of it being very fresh material, as it referenced events that had only happened earlier in the day). Erin Foley did an incredibly funny bit about living with cats, while the lovely Natasha Leggero did a humorous bit about her recent conversion to Judaism. Comedian Todd Barry had perhaps a bit of a quieter demeanor on-stage (not necessarily deadpan humor) when performing, but the crowd was very well engaged and laughing hard. What was so great about this was that every comedian was able to bring in their own stories and distract from the bullshit that was going on outside, while showcasing their comical identities in a diverse lineup.

In between each set, Tom Papa and Rick Crom would speak, host various sketches featuring each comedian in attendance (and special guest Matt Besser from UCB!), and introduce a live jazz band that opened up and accompanied the show.

As the lights went up at midnight, tabs were closed, coats were collected, and people made their way out onto the street and back into civilization. Regardless of what happened in the country on January 20th, it was wonderful to have a place to go with people that gave a shit and successfully distracted us from what was happening. So thank you, Tom Papa and company, for a wonderful show! 

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