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Need a laugh? Portland’s standup comedians sure do.
Stop by a local showcase these days and you’ll hear jokes that, depending on your perspective, are either pitch-black hilarious or just horribly real. On the menu are gags about homelessness, dating convicts, and horse dicks. And those are the upbeat ones.
Just ask Ronnie Macaroni, one of the winners in our 2024 Funniest Five poll, who likes to quip: “I love being single; I just hate introducing guys to my parents. It’s awkward…'cause they’re dead.”
In a city that was struggling even before an ice storm resulted in power outages that plunged thousands into darkness and bitter cold, it’s hard to see the funny side. That’s doubly true if you’re a comic, since standup masters absorb anguish and transform it into witticisms to feed ravenous audiences. But, Doctor, I am living in Portland!
Yet here we are, publishing the results of our Funniest Five poll for the 11th year. More than 100 comedians, bookers, improvisers, podcasters and promoters cast their ballots this year, sending a clear message: Our city’s comic chops are still strong.
This year’s Funniest Five winner, Mx. Dahlia Belle, likes to say that all comedy shows are the same, that there’s no difference between performing at a sold-out London arena or a dive bar on Burnside. We’ll take her word for it, but a look at this year’s winners shows what talent pain has forged.
Belle, along with fellow winners Macaroni, James Hartenfeld and Joe John Sanchez III, will perform at the Funniest Five Showcase at the Alberta Rose Theatre on Sunday, Jan. 28. (Note: An additional comic initially placed in the top five, but asked not to be profiled.) And while second-place winner Neeraj Srinivasan couldn’t make it to our photo shoot after a nasty fall on the ice, he still plans to appear at the showcase Sunday.
We hope to see you there. The year’s Funniest Five represent the best of Portland’s standup community, proving that tough times are nothing if not fertile comedic material. Just ask Hartenfeld, who did his first set just weeks after he was in a psychiatric ward receiving treatment for bipolar disorder, and told us that he found himself “healing through play and comedy.”
Play? Healing? Sounds like a prescription for Portland.
—Bennett Campbell Ferguson, Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
Funniest Five 2024
Mx. Dahlia Belle Revels in Wrong Answers
Neeraj Srinivasan Blends Social Commentary and Self-Reflection
Ronnie Macaroni Is Ready to Shock You
Standup Comedy Helped James Hartenfeld Heal
Joe John Sanchez III Isn’t Saving the World. Or Are They?
Here’s Your Guide to 2024′s Hottest Open Mics
Get Tickets to the Funniest Five Showcase at the Alberta Rose Theatre here!