VARIETY PACK Alt Comedy Festival Returns to Philadelphia
The festival will include two weekends of shows, twenty acts, and more.
By: Stephi Wild Dec. 15, 2025
After its debut in 2025, VARIETY PACK is back and leveling up. Philadelphia's festival dedicated to the chaotic, theatrical, unclassifiable corners of alt-comedy will return January 22 – 31, 2026 with two weekends of shows, twenty acts, and more.
What started as a one-time experiment has now officially become its own producing entity: Variety Pack, an independent festival committed to giving Philly's strangest comedic minds a home…
“The first Variety Pack was an experiment to see if anybody even wanted something like this. After a resounding “YES!!!” from artists and audiences alike, we're going as big as we possibly can with Vol. 2. We've doubled the number of shows, included children's programming, and added a couple of workshops to back up our philosophy that comedy can and should be for everybody. My hope is that over time, Variety Pack becomes as beloved by Philadelphians as Gritty or parking in the middle of Broad Street. Go Birds.”
Held at the Louis Bluver Theatre at The Drake, Variety Pack brings audiences everything from family-friendly improvised musicals to theatrical send-ups of pop culture, late-night cartoons, bold solo shows, and The Futuremores “‘fake' awards show for real shows that haven't happened yet”.. It's the kind of festival you explain to your friends by saying, “I can't even explain it. I hope it comes back so you can see it.”
Philadelphia Awards - Live Stats
Best Musical - Top 3
1.
CATS (Shawnee Playhouse)
17% of votes
2.
INTO THE WOODS (The Milford Theater)
5.8% of votes
3.
NEWSIES (Viviana Theatre)
3.9% of votes
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