W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu Come to The Soraya

Two of today's freshest comic voices come to The Soraya for one night of evening of groundbreaking stand-up comedy-W. Kamau Bell, host of the Emmy Award-winning CNN docuseries United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell and Brooklyn-based comedian and podcaster Hari Kondabolu, whose best known for The Problem with Apu and has performed on The Late Show with David Letterman, Conan, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. This one-night only event takes place on Saturday, March 16 at 8:00pm.

W. Kamau Bell is a sociopolitical comedian who continues to host the Emmy Award-winning CNN docuseries United Shades of America. He made his Netflix debut, last June, with a new stand-up comedy special, Private School Negro. Kamau has a book with the easy-to-remember title The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. Kamau has hosted three critically acclaimed podcasts: Kamau Right Now!, Politically Re-Active, and Denzel Washington is The Greatest Actor of All Time Period. Kamau is on the advisory board of Hollaback! and Donors Choose and is the ACLU Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice. The New York Times called Kamau "the most promising new talent in political comedy in many years."

Hari Kondabolu is a comedian, writer & podcaster based in Brooklyn, NY. He has been described by The New York Times as "one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today." In 2018, his Netflix special Warn Your Relatives was released and he was named one of Variety's Top 10 Comics To Watch. Regarding his special, The New York Times wrote " it was an artistic breakthrough for him, an incisively funny and formally adventurous hour that reveals a comic in command of his powers."

Hari has released two comedy albums two albums, Waiting for 2042 & Mainstream American Comic with the legendary indie rock label Kill Rock Stars. He has performed on The Late Show with David Letterman, Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live, John Oliver's NY Stand-Up Show, @Midnight & has his own half-hour special on Comedy Central. A former writer & correspondent on the Chris Rock produced FX TV show Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell. In 2017, he released his critically acclaimed documentary The Problem with Apu on truTV.

"The Soraya is well-known for our 'Music Knows No Border' programming but we're now expanding it a bit to include 'Comedy Knows No Borders,'" said Thor Steingraber, Executive Director of The Soraya. "Two of America's brightest observers of today's culture, W. Kamau and Hari bring their thoughtful, rioutously funny and global sensibility to our stage for the first time."

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit The Soraya or call 818-677-3000. Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts is located at 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330. Ticket prices subject to change.