When tickets went on sale for Gianmarco Soresi’s “The Leaning In Tour,” including 75 shows across 24 cities, some of his observant Jewish fans complained.
His show at Hollywood Improv was scheduled for September 25, during the last hour or so of Yom Kippur. Soresi said he will be sure to check the calendar next time, as he has a large Orthodox Jewish fan base. But they’ll have a chance to see him; he is performing a second show at the Melrose Avenue club on September 26.
With 251,000 Instagram followers as well as nearly 600,000 TikTok followers, his posts have garnered more than 43.2 million likes, it would be an understatement to say Soresi is a comedian on the rise. His podcast, “The Downside” is funny and informative; Soresi keeps it real and cynical. He’s not afraid to delve into negative aspects of things. There have been complaints that the podcast is “too Jewish.”
The New York City resident said as there was tension at home between his parents when he grew up, he would think of comedic things as a sort of release. He said in recent years he’s become more connected to his Jewish roots.
“My dad is not that Italian but before I could understand the concept of fractions, he would tell me I was 100% Italian,” Soresi said. “My mom was Jewish but underplayed it. She was given the choice between a bat mitzvah and a Sweet 16 and chose the latter.”
He said his girlfriend grew up in a Chabad New Orleans community and “all I know is I enjoy complaining and kvetchingand many of the people putting up with it are Jewish.”
Soresi shows off his skill as an interviewer in “Crushing Your Bar Mitzvah with Jewish comedian Modi Rosenfeld,” one of the podcast’s best episodes. Rosenfeld recounts his father talking about fighting in a war in Israel, he also makes jokes to the tune of hishaftorah. In Episode 113, “Rabbi Hopping with Tovah Silbermann” Socesi plays a recording of his girlfriend, Tovah’s night terrors.
One of his good friends is fellow Jewish comedian Ariel Elias. At a show in October 2022, Elias was doing her act on stage, when a female heckler said she could tell Elias voted for President Joe Biden. Elias responded by telling her why she could tell the heckler voted for Trump; the woman’s boyfriend threw a beer can that narrowly missed hitting Elias’ head. Then shepicked up the can drank the beer.
“It was very jarring,” Soresi said. “We have hecklers now and then but it’s not frequent that there is a violent act. It was shocking. It just happened so quickly. It was upsetting. The way she handled it was incredible. The person with the most weapons is the comedian on stage she’s got a stool and mic stand.”
The clip went viral and Elias performed on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” soon after.
Soresi made his late-night debut last year on “The Late, Late Show with James Corden.” He explained that the joint custody agreement his parents worked out was as complicated as an SAT question: “If Gianmarco is supposed to be at his Jewish mom’s house on Tuesday, but Tuesday is his father’s birthday, which happens to be the last night of Hanukkah, but his dad’s parents are taking a train in from Philly going at 60 miles per hour, then how much Lexapro will Gianmarco need?”
Soresi explained that there are big differences between New York and LA.
“Being depressed in New York makes sense,” Soresi said. “The trains never work. There are rats everywhere. But when I’m on a beautiful beach in Santa Monica, I’m like ‘Oh my God!’ There’s some degree of misery loves company and if you want to experience misery, you stay in New York City. I can’t stand the positivity of LA. I do like the food.”
He first realized the power of comedy in the first grade, playing The Prince in “The Princess and The Pea.” His character declared his love for his paramour, then he turned to the audience and improvised: “Bleh!”
He said it got a good response and he understood how important moments could be undermined with a laugh.
Talking about what he does not want his podcast to become, Soresi pointed to the recent MTV Video Music Awards.
“With the VMA’s, the whole brand of singers is ‘I’m cool. I’m sexy. I’m killing it.’ I want a place where people can be the opposite. I feel like it’s more interesting, it’s more human and ultimately, it’s funnier. There’s nothing funny about being cool. What’s funny is trying to be cool and d falling into a sewer crate.”
