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Medium: Stand-up, Television, Theatre
Nationality: Palestinian-Italian-American
Years active: 1990s - present
Genres: Satire/Political satire, Observational comedy, Muslim comedy
Subject: American politics, American culture, current events, Middle East
Influences: Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, George Carlin
Dean Obeidallah is an Arab-American/Italian-American comedian, who was born in Lodi, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby Paramus. His father was born in Battir, Palestine- a small village near Bethlehem; his mother's parents were born in Sicily. He is part of a small but growing number of Middle Eastern-American comedians who have increasingly received media attention in the past few years, as they use comedy to both entertain and dispel negative stereotypes of Middle Eastern-Americans.
Like African-American comedians in the 1960s and 70s, Obeidallah and other Arab-American comics have been compared to the groundbreaking comedians who have used comedy to raise political and social issues in an effort to change them as noted by The Baltimore Sun's David Zurawik:
"Just as comic Lenny Bruce battled the stifling conformity of the 1950s or Dick Gregory and Richard Pryor challenged racism in the '60s and '70s, these performers now are challenging mainstream notions about their ethnic, religious and racial groups."
In 2005, Obeidallah received the first “Spirit of Bill Hicks” award, named in honor of comedian Bill Hicks for “thought provoking comedy” from the NY Underground Comedy Festival and the Hicks’ family. He co-produced with the Emmy award winning comedy writer and best-selling author Max Brooks a new show entitled "The Watch List" for Comedy Central's Internet channel. This was the first show ever produced by a major American entertainment company to showcase all Middle Eastern-American performers. Obeidallah has also appeared on Comedy Central on the critically acclaimed "Axis of Evil" Comedy special.
He is also the co-founder of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival. This highly-acclaimed, first of its kind festival has received national and international media coverage. It is held annually in New York City and showcases Arab-American comics, actors, playwrights and filmmakers. The 6th annual Festival will be held May 10-14, 2009.
Obeidallah is the co-creator of "Stand up for Peace" which he performs across the country with Jewish-American comedian Scott Blakeman. “Stand Up for Peace” brings Arab-Americans, Muslims and Jews together through comedy in the hopes of fostering understanding and peace in the Middle East.
Dean has also been featured on numerous national and international television programs including Comedy Central's "Axis of Evil" special and "The Watch List," ABC's The View, "Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen," PBS' Newshour with Jim Lehrer, ABC's 20/20, CNN's "Inside the Middle East" and Japan's NHK. He can also be seen on the upcoming PBS' documentary, "Stand Up: Muslim American Comics Come of Age" which aired nationally in May 2008 and on BBC World News. Dean can also be seen in the bonus feature of the DVD version of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" in the section entitled: Arab-American comedians. He has also been featured in various publications and radio networks including The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, BBC, Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman, The Associated Press, Vanity Fair (Italian version) and Air America Radio.
Dean served as the Executive Producer of the Amman Stand up Comedy Festival held in Amman, Jordan from December 2-6, 2008. This was the first stand up comedy festival in the history of the Middle East. The second annual Festival will be held December 4 to 11, 2009.
In addition to appearing at hundreds of comedy clubs and colleges across the United States, Obeidallah has performed stand-up comedy in Canada and in the Middle East in Amman, Dubai, Beirut, Cairo, Haifa, Sharm El Sheikh and Ramallah.
Rutgers University with Maz Jobrani and Maysoon Zayid
March 25, 2009
Rutgers University -New Brunswick, NJ
I'll be performing with Maz Jobrani and Maysoon Zayid at Rutgers University.
Performance at Georgia Tech University
March 28, 2009
Atlanta, Georgia
I'll be performing at Georgia Tech University.
Stand up for Peace show at Washington University in St. Louis
March 27, 2009
St. Louis, Missouri
I'll be performing with Scott Blakeman our show Stand Up For Peace.
Stand up for Peace show at Hamilton College
April 17, 2009
Clinton, NY
I'll be performing with Scott Blakeman our show Stand Up For Peace
at Hamilton College.
Syracuse University Show with Maysoon Zayid, Amer Zahr and Maria
Shehata
April 3, 2009
Syracuse University - Syracuse, NY
I'll be headlining a show at Syracuse University with Maysoon Zayid,
Amer Zahr and Maria Shehata.
Stand Up For Peace show at Grand Valley State University
April 15, 2009
Allendale, Michigan
I'll be performing with Scott Blakeman our show Stand Up For Peace.
"Get Your Arab On" - featuring Aron Kader, Amer Zahr and
me
April 26, 2009 - 7:00 PM
Helium Comedy Club - Philadelphia, PA.
If you live in the Philadelphia area I hope you will check out our show on April 26 with Aron Kader, Amer Zahr and myself at Helium Comedy Club.
6th Annual NY Arab-American Comedy Festival
May 10-14, 2009
Comix Comedy Club - New York, NY
The 6th annual NY Arab-American Comedy Festival will take place May 10-14, 2009.
Comedy Performances in New York City
Various Dates and Times
New York, NY
For Dean Obeidallah, comedy is about more than just making people laugh. "My comedy is very political," he says. "I try to make people think and challenge their views a little bit. But if you're not making them laugh, then you're just giving speeches."
Born in 1969 in northern New Jersey, Obeidallah originally tried his hand at being a lawyer before moving on to comedy. He spent five years in law after graduating from Fordham. "People at the firm suggested I enter the funniest lawyer contest," Obeidallah says. "I took it as a hint I should quit being a lawyer."
What started as a lark morphed into a career. Along with doing standup at top clubs in New York and across the country, Obeidallah has appeared on CNN, NBC, ABC, the Newshour with Jim Lehrer and Comedy Central, and has been a contributing writer to Saturday Night Live and the Late, Late Show.
Things changed for Obeidallah after 9/11, both in how he was seen and what direction his comedy took. "Before, I didn't really identify much as being Arab or Palestinian. It was never a big part of my life," he explains. "Six or seven years ago, no one described me like that. It was present, but it wasn't political or some burning passion."
But now things are different. Though his shows touch on American politics in general and address more than just being Arab in America, Obeidallah feels strongly about the topic. "My passion is that I'm upset with the way Arabs and Palestinians have been portrayed in the media and it offends my American notions of fairness and justice," he says. "A big part of my work is being Palestinian American and using comedy to foster an understanding of who we are. At the same time, all my material is written from an American point of view, so people can find it funny and relate to it."
It's a formula that is catching people's attention. In 2005, Obeidallah was the first winner of the Bill Hicks Spirit Award for Thought Provoking Comedy. His one man show I Come in Peace had a successful run off Broadway and at the 2006 New York Fringe Festival. Currently, Obeidallah is co-producing "The Watch List," for Comedy Central's online site, Motherload. Describing it as an "Arab-American Chappelle's Show," it's the first show that features solely Middle Eastern comics. In addition, he is working on the annual New York Arab-American Comedy Festival that runs each November and is a frequent special guest on the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour.