'What's So Funny About Detroit' comedy show returns to Old Miami

As the city's stand-up comedy scene continues to gain momentum in clubs, one showcase is on roll with a carefully curated line up and a regularly packed house.

“What’s So Funny About Detroit?” is a recurring comedy show returning Thursday to the Old Miami for an outdoor performance featuring Detroit-area standups Esteban Touma, Melanie Hearn, Osama Basal, Johanna Medranda, Louis D. Michael and Pat Sievert. 

Organizer and host Ryan Patrick Hooper of 101.9 WDET-FM’s “Culture Shift” says the comics that perform at “What’s So Funny” are “the best in the city.”

"Stand-up comedy is part of the performing arts lexicon, but it doesn't get the respect that other performing arts tend to get," said Hooper. "Stand-up comics are the philosophers of our time — making sense of how crazy the world is."

The event, which regularly sells out, is a benefit for WDET. It will be recorded for a later airing on the NPR-affiliated station. 

Audience members are welcome to bring a chair or blanket to sit on during the show, which is in the Cass corridor bar’s spacious and green backyard. The 21-and-older event is expected to run less than two hours long.

mbaetens@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @melodybaetens

What’s So Funny About Detroit?

with Esteban Touma, Melanie Hearn, Osama Basal, Johanna Medranda, Louis D. Michael and Pat Sievert

Old Miami

3930 Cass, Detroit

Doors open 6:30 p.m. Thurs., show at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $25 

wdet.org/event/wdet-comedy-showcase-whats-so-funny-about-detroit-2