My first time in the audience during a taping
by Serena Williams on 2024-05-09Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre - TorontoWhen Ilana performed in Toronto (last 2 days of her tour), we were warned that the show would be recorded. If you see the venue, you'll know why they picked Toronto. It was day 1 of taping, so i could feel that the comedian was quite nervous. Everything was scripted down to the comma, so: 1) there would be no interaction with the audience 2) every time she forgot a word, she'd just start the joke over (for post-prod i guess). So this show particularly felt different. The opening act Alison Leiby was hilarious and more relaxed (probably because her show was not filmed). The vibe in the room was great, very anti-gen0cide (which is a criterium i never thought i would need to appreciate a night out). Both comedians performed high-quality materials, Alison had so much more energy than Ilana (probably because she hadn't toured repeating the same jokes for one hour every day across the continent, with a toddler to take care of... The ticket were affordable and merch was sold (and they weren't cheap). I got myself a hoodie, although i expected more fun designs. Or Ilana's face... I went home with a smile on my face and a whole in my pocket! Great night.