When I wrote a profile on Asian Jewish stand-up comedian Dylan Adler for Hey Alma in 2021, I concluded the piece by writing, “I imagine it won’t be too long before we’re seeing him and his act just about everywhere.”
Thankfully for all of us, my prediction seems to be coming to fruition.
Last night, Dylan made his late night stand-up comedy debut on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” where he is also a writer. As usual, his set was a perfect representation of who he is: Japanese and Jewish, gay, musical, full of drama and, of course, absolutely hilarious.
Though the majority of Dylan’s set was about his identical twin brother Max (who also happens to be gay), his mom and his Japanese side of the family, Dylan took the time to highlight his Jewishness as well
“But I think I have to address it as this point: I am biracial,” Dylan says about halfway through the set. “My mom is Japanese and my dad is Jewish — soy vey, bitch! Mazel tofu, bitch! Shabbat sha — no, there’s not a third.”
Dylan also includes some very funny choreographed hits for that joke and throughout the set, but I’ll stop writing. It’s probably better if you just see the whole routine for yourself:
While Dylan has been featured on the show before — once singing “The Star Spangled Banner” in a sketch and in another segment where he pretended to be knowledgable about football — this is the first time he’s had the opportunity to completely be himself on the show, no pretenses. And frankly, it was delightful. If you’re reading this, Mr. James Corden, I’m begging you to let Dylan do his shtick on the show more often.
Mazel tov, Dylan!! Or should we say: mazel tofu, bitch!
