By Shira Oz
On Thursday, February 27, 2026, comedian Jim Gaffigan stopped in Washington, D.C., for three nights as part of his Everything is Wonderful tour.
Jim Gaffigan, a Georgetown graduate, gained widespread popularity through specials like Mr. Universe and Cinco.
I was unfamiliar with Gaffigan’s comedy, so when I noticed that the Anthem was filled with people mostly in their early thirties to mid-fifties, I immediately assumed I was not the target audience. After watching the show, I now know I wasn’t the target audience, but I still found him really funny.
Ted Alexandro opened the show; the majority of his jokes were about marriage or parenting, so not really topics I could relate to. Nevertheless, I felt that if I were slightly older, I would have found many of the jokes funny. He joked that active-duty soldiers and young parents are the first groups to board planes, which should be pretty telling about how difficult parenting is. I thought that was funny.
Gaffigan came on after him. He also made jokes about parenting and marriage, but to older kids. One thing I noticed is how clean his humor is, yet he still manages to be really funny. Gaffigan’s comedy is known for its observational style—focusing on everyday things like food, family life, and small annoyances that most people can relate to. Even when the jokes weren’t directly aimed at someone my age, the way he built them made it easy to laugh along with the rest of the audience. Most comedians, I feel, have to resort to controversial or sexual humor to get the crowd laughing. Gaffigan didn’t at all, and I found myself laughing a lot, as did the rest of the crowd.
I also appreciated how Gaffigan weaved in jokes from Alexandro’s stand-up into his jokes. It wasn’t very noticeable, but if you were paying close attention, you would have noticed it.
I kept on thinking about how much my parents and older cousins would have enjoyed this show, and maybe if I were ten years older, I would have enjoyed it much more. Even though the humor was not directed at me, I still enjoyed it, and I am really glad I went. If anything, the show made me curious to revisit his comedy in a few years.
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