Eisenberg & Farber Light Up MJCCA for Laughs

Ophira Eisenberg, standup comic, writer, and host of the “Parenting is a Joke” podcast, performed at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA) on Aug. 17 to a room full of devoted fans and a few who came out of curiosity in hopes of having some new laughs.

Brooklyn natives Cindi and David Stern, positioned on the second row, had fond memories of doing volunteer work with Eisenberg back in New York and are fans of her podcast. As a special bonus, octogenarian home-grown comedian Jerry Farber preceded Eisenberg and warmed up the crowd.

Farber, who is always quick on his skinny feet, began his set noting that he might not have new material since he was recycled now four decades ago; but mostly he did have it. Those who followed Farber through his dating, late in life marriage, and child rearing, were thrilled to see now grown son, Rocky, take a bow in the audience. Sparing no one from a joke, Farber joshed that Rocky was still in MJCCA PreK preschool.

Farber harkened back to his own childhood days in North Carolina, home of the Klu Klux Klan. “What were my parents thinking of moving there from Baltimore?” He bantered about Rabbi Brian Glusman. MJCCA Rabbi, gambling whether a man might jump off a building on TV news … “It’s just that one of them had already seen it happen live earlier.” Farber then held up two huge posters … one of his own head atop a Herculean body.

Eisenberg, taking the stage in casual attire, was very down to earth, and as audience fan Sarah Katler said earlier, “She is relatable.”

Eisenberg’s first schtick was making fun of the unusualness of her own name … even writing on a Starbucks cup and as a Jewish version of Oprah.

“I’m like the Eunice of Tel Aviv, the Mabel of Jerusalem.”

Being on Dunwoody turf, she had note cards about how visitors ranked Atlanta’s tourist spots. First, she bantered about hotel front desk employees getting asked dumb questions like, “Do the windows open so I can get fresh air and is the air fresh 24/7 if you walk outdoors?”

She joked that the Georgia Aquarium is “too expensive unless I can take a fish home” … “The World of Coke has sticky floors.”

Reading Yelp reviews about the Atlanta Botanical Garden, she joked, “It seems like more of a park, than a garden … I came in February and everything was dead.”

Like Farber, Eisenberg also shared about her childhood as she described her parents’ journey from Israel to Newfoundland, Canada. “What were they thinking? My father came in 1958 to give bar mitzvah classes … to whom?” They then moved to Calgary where her father was indeed head of the Hebrew school where they were “not rich. Think of working class … Hebs for Hire, W2 Jews, DIY Jews.”

Bottom line: she was indeed relatable by being casually conversant with the audience.

Later, while speaking with the AJT, she said, “I love Atlanta, my only complaint was that I could only be there for all of 24 hours this time around because of a few shows in a row, but it is one of my favorite cities, and it has incredible restaurants and food. Next time, I need additional time to dine … sometimes audiences are tougher on female comedians. All the feedback I received was overwhelmingly positive after the show; and it was so nice to meet and talk to some of the people that came. There were also a bunch of newer standup comics that came with Jerry Farber, and that’s always cool and great to talk to after the show. In general, I’m always working and building my act; and I put together certain jokes and stories that I think will work for the crowd and setting I’m performing in. And then my job is to sell it and perform it.”