Comic Judah Friedlander of ‘30 Rock’ coming to Petaluma

New York comic Judah Friedlander will bring his satirical world view to the Griffo Distillery in Petaluma this Sunday.|

Comedy Night with Judah Friedlander

When: 7-11 p.m. Sunday, April 22

Where: Griffo Distillery, 1320 Scott St., Suite A, Petaluma

Admission: $20

Information: 707-879-8755, griffodistillery.com

When comedian Judah Friedlander says things like “America Is the Greatest Country in the United States” - the title of his Netflix special last year - he actually has a serious point to make.

The New York comic, formerly a cast member of the “30 Rock” television series, uses his long-established persona of the smug “World Champion,” and his more recent pose from last year as a presidential candidate, to make fun of what he calls “American exceptionalism” - the notion that the U.S. must automatically be the biggest and the best at everything.

The burly, bearded Friedlander will bring his dry, ironic humor Sunday night to Petaluma for a live show at Griffo Distillery in Petaluma.

“The whole Bay Area is very diverse and smart, so I look forward to doing a lot of shows there,” he said during a recent phone interview.

Friedlander’s “World Champion” character - who claimed on late-night TV talk shows that he’s been banned from almost every sport because he’s just too good - stemmed from the comic’s simple dislike of braggarts.

“It has changed over the years, and there’s different layers to it,” he said. “Initially, probably about 18 years ago, it started off as just making fun of the show-offs. It seems like our society often rewards the show-offs. It hardly ever rewards just the straight-up hardworking person. And originally, I was looking at it from a sports angle.”

When the social media site Myspace debuted in 2003, Friedlander observed, “Everything was ‘Look was look at me! Look at me!’” So he extended his material to include jokes about egotism in general.

At that point, the comedian had abandoned political humor years before - “because I felt like every joke had an expiration date.”

Then, almost a decade ago, Friedlander started doing comedy shows in Europe.

“I thought I was going to learn a lot more about Europe, which I did, but what I really began to see more clearly what I really began to see more clearly was my own country. I had a little more perspective on human rights issues,” he said.

From then on, Friedlander began to take a look at our whole nation as others around the world might see it. That led to a style of political humor that is not blatantly partisan.

“Through jokes and crowd work, I satirize the narcissism of American exceptionalism,” he explained. “I think the Republicans are worse, but it comes from the Democrats and the mainstream TV news as well.”

While many comedians consider President Donald Trump a convenient target, Friedlander considers himself more concerned with issues than personalities.

“Some of my last television special was filmed before the election,” the comic said. “When I’m doing bits and talking about gun control, health care, mass incarceration, the gender pay gap - these issues are not exclusive to Trump or the Republican Party or Democratic Party. These are issues we’ve had since probably forever.”

The “World Champion” character has evolved. He’s no longer a braggart. He has a heart.

“Now I’m a champion of the world, which means I fight for the rights of the world, and all of its inhabitants, including the humans, the animals, the trees and the grass,” Friedlander said.

The world - or at least, the comic’s audiences in other countries - seems to appreciate it.

“When I first started performing in London, like seven years ago, I realized that we are their reality show,” Friedlander said. “They watch our news shows, and they’re like, ‘Wow! What is going on in America?’”

Comedy Night with Judah Friedlander

When: 7-11 p.m. Sunday, April 22

Where: Griffo Distillery, 1320 Scott St., Suite A, Petaluma

Admission: $20

Information: 707-879-8755, griffodistillery.com

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