Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Myq Kaplan
He releases his newest special, “Rini,” tonight on YouTube at 8pm EST.
Myq Kaplan has always seemed unflappable. This remains true as we meet in Herald Square, where we’ll take the train to Q.E.D. in Astoria for his New York Comedy Festival show. It’s wild that a Bar Mitzvah has passed since we first met in the East Village through our friend Gabe. A comedian of 20 years with credits like The Tonight Show, Comedy Central, Conan O’Brien, David Letterman, and Seth Meyers under his belt–to name only a few–he releases his newest special, entitled “Rini,” tonight on YouTube at 8pm Eastern Time.
“Rini” is named after his lovely partner, who joins us at Herald Square. They’ve been together for almost a decade, and the special, which I had the privilege of seeing filmed at The Actors’ Temple in Hell’s Kitchen, is a production on which “the two collaborated to craft a deeply personal project that is equal parts a comedy special and a thesis on love.” In it, in true Myq fashion, he “offers advice to his past dumb self while discussing his evolving thoughts on traditional marriage, polyamory, quantum physics, psychedelics, music, God, and more.”
As the train moves into Queens, they talk about the acting classes they’ve taken, the podcasts Myq has done to prepare for the release of the special, where their travels have taken them, where they’re going next. Myq is a workhorse, always on the road, multiple gigs a night when he’s in town. When he does standup at Q.E.D., it’s magical to see his mind work, coursing between a whirlwind of big ideas, stories, and word play, like a driver skillfully maneuvering between cars on a racetrack. He has both linguistics and philosophy degrees and I think it shows, but in a good way–he asks you to keep up because he believes you can. He’s got a notebook onstage and he works out a bunch of new material, the clay that will at some point be formed into another new special down the road. I laugh loudly (maybe too loud…sorry, Myq) and often throughout his set, as I always do. Afterward, a fan approaches for a picture.
On the train back, Myq takes a weed gummy in preparation for his next show, Weeding Out the Stoned, “The Game Show of Sobriety Tests” where “Every player is stoned - but one!” Tonight there’s a twist, though–the show has partnered with another, Get Work– “where real hiring managers interview comedians who are forced to use ridiculous resumes.” Only the (presumed) sober enter the final round of interviews. Myq fools them all–everyone thinks he’s sober as he answers each question with his signature Myq mix of whimsy and matter-of-fact-ness. It’s fun to listen to him, but it’s also fun to watch him make people laugh.
We leave and take the train uptown, chatting about what it means to make a life, what success is, and how to look at it all with a Buddhist lens. Myq seems to have a good handle on it. I am still learning.
