Joe Wong wows sellout crowd

Don Rechtman poses for a photo at Fenghua Grand Theater on Dec. 1 before Joe Wong's show started. Photo courtesy of Don Rechtman

During the warm-up at the beginning of Dr. Joe Wong's stand-up comedy show Dec. 1 at Fenghua Grand Theater in Shekou, American stand-up comic Dwight Wozich did a great job of quickly enticing the audience to actively participate in appreciating the humor he presented. Dwight also occasionally performs at stand-up events in and around Shenzhen. 

While not as polished or compact as his many short TV appearances, Joe’s “Out of Place 2” English comedy tour performance still exceeded expectations. He discussed (and poked fun at) everything from U.S. and Chinese cultural differences to language anomalies, light ethnic humor, self-referencing humor about his wife and family, subtle sexual innuendos, education, misinterpretation of words (“wifi” and “wife”, “mattress” and “mistress”), and even tidbits related to his Ph.D. in neurobiology. 

Joe Wong during his performance at Fenghua Grand Theater on Dec. 1.

Toward the end of his one-hour show, he dropped some bombshell comments about Biden, including some from his Biden roasting 14 years ago, and some more recent comments about Trump. He miraculously presented them in such a way that it was unlikely any Biden or Trump fans were offended; instead they were able to laugh along with everyone else.

I talked with several people before the show, and was surprised to see that the vast majority of the audience was seeing him live for the first time. He even asked the crowd to raise their hands to see how many had attended his previous shows; he joked that only three hands went up, indicating not a lot of repeat customers! One of the Chinese bilingual theatre volunteers said she had not even heard of him until this show but looked forward to the performance.

It was a new experience for a man from Sweden and another from the UK; their wives enticed them to attend after seeing Joe on the internet. One woman from Chongqing was excited about seeing him live; her previous experience was 14 years ago when she was 12 and saw him on TV. One Hong Konger said he had seen Joe online; it was also a first experience for a man from Ghana.

Joe Wong (R) and Dwight Wozich have their group picture taken at the end of the show at Fenghua Grand Theater. Photos courtesy of the show organizer unless otherwise stated

At the end of the show, he managed to have his photographer take group photos of the audience with Dwight and himself onstage, their backs to the audience. It was a fun closing activity.

I also talked with a few people after the show, and all were delighted with what he shared. Whether seeing him for the first time, live or on video, their expectations were fulfilled. I chatted with a delightful couple of physics students from the Shenzhen MSU-BIT University who said they attended to practice their listening skills! While they noted they could not understand all the humor, they nonetheless had a wonderful experience. (They’re also learning Russian to better understand their professors.)

A woman named Brandy made the interesting observation that, in addition to what Joe spoke about, his acting and timing was quite powerful. She also noted that during the two times he took a few seconds to refresh with a swig of water, he was Joe the person, not just Joe the comedian.

I had the opportunity to have a brief conversation with Joe. We talked about Shenzhen, and the distinction between being a comedian or a humorist. A comedian tells jokes that are suitable for the moment but lose their humor over time, whereas the jokes of a humorist continue to impact audiences for generations.

I cited Mark Twain as an example of a humorist; Joe said Twain is one of his favorite writers. I asked him which one he thinks he is, or if he is some sort of combination. He expressed his hope that he is seen as a bit of both. I personally rate him as both, but more as a humorist that a comedian.

When presented with an open-ended question, he praised Shenzhen. He explained that with his background in neurobiology, he knows the importance of taking risks to create positive change. He sees Shenzhen as a massive community of risk-takers in science, the arts, and culture, comprised of people from all over China and the world who came to Shenzhen to take risks to make the world a better place. Through their efforts, a small fishing village has transformed into this wonderful city that he loves.

If you missed his live shows, do try to catch one in the future. Meanwhile, you can find his performances on YouTube, BiliBili, and a multitude of other pages on the internet.