Mad About the Boy: A Review of Bryan Safi's 'Are You Mad at Me??'
It was much better than 'Cats'
July 19, 2026
Bryan Safi has said he hates one-man shows, so maybe that’s why he can’t resist drafting half the audience to give him an assist in his hilarious, anxiety-ridden, inventive Are You Mad at Me??, playing the HERE Arts Center in NYC through August 15.
Safi, who I learned is first 14th on the 9-1-1 call sheet but 14th first in the hearts of fans of his shows Throwing Shade and Ask Ronna, didn’t really need us — he’s plenty funny on his own — but as simultaneously sharp and fluid as his show is (it feels like he’s been doing it forever), he really does shine when interacting with (checks notes) people. That includes his instinctive proffering of the mic to paying audience members at unexpected moments, jokingly antagonistic asides with them or even warm, improvised mini-interviews; his crowd work is a work of art.
The show is made or broken by how much you like this guy, and by how much you, like, believe him when he hysterically (both ha-ha and what’s wrong with him?!) exposes his doubts about his body and who he is as a person.
I personally bought it entirely, even though I sat there thinking I’d love to have his hair or to fit into his clothes. He ruthlessly takes us into his confidence regarding his lack of confidence, but does it in a sly way that requires some dot-connecting brainwork.
For example, as funny as it is when he asks us to decide which of his self-possessed mom’s statements to Childhood Bryan were serving cunt vs. plain old homophobic, it’s the kind of joke that sinks in later. No wonder he — and/or his stage character — can’t see all he’s got going for him.
I especially appreciated the broad pop cultural playbook he draws from. When he exposed Sharon Stone for the whoppers she routinely tells, I felt dangerously validated. When he played her infamous stroke PSA, it was like Shutterfly was reminding me of my memories from 20 years ago.
His knowing, observational, manic comedy put me in mind of Scott Thompson, but via constructs like his bit about the importance of the back vs. the front of a shopper’s T-shirt he once spied, we enter Lily Tomlin territory — and if the choices are soup or art, I say Safi is art.
Highly recommended if you’re highly paying attention — remember, the material and its creator are bound to sneak up on you.⚡️