Get comedy with a side of pastrami during this secretive show at Katz’s Deli

When Underground Overground Comedy announced their first show at the legendary Katz's Delicatessen last year, tickets sold out in less than a minute. This year, the show's coming back to Katz's with a new slate of well-known comics on Wednesday, November 15.

If you want to go, mark your calendar for not just the event date but also the ticket pre-sale date: Wednesday, October 25, at 7:30pm. If you miss out on that date, join the waitlist and stay tuned for the second-round ticket drop on Sunday, November 5, at 7:30pm. 

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You'll have to buy your ticket without knowing the lineup, which is purposely kept secret until the night of the show. However, event organizers David Levine and Ethan Mansoor promise it's worth the wait, and we can attest to that. Last year's performers at Katz Deli included Roy Wood Jr., Mark Normand and Jessica Kirson. 

Each ticket ($162/person) comes with unlimited free drinks and pastrami after the show.

As native New Yorkers and lifelong friends, Levine and Mansoor founded Underground Overground Comedy to bring hilarious shows to unique venues—a laundromat, a barbershop and a tattoo parlor, to name a few.

But Katz's was always a dream for them. 

"As NYC small businesses go, if you’re talking about what represents that theme, Katz’s is just an institution that’s been around for 130 years," Mansoor told Time Out before last year's show.

The show last fall—the first comedy show ever at Katz's in its 135-year history—drew a sold-out crowd who lined up around the building to get in. The photos are quintessential New York—fans packed around tables laughing and clapping, their faces lit in the glow of neon signs. 

"Last year was magical," Levine says. "To pull off something that has never been done in NYC is something Ethan and I will tell our kids about." 

Plus, he adds, Katz's layout actually makes an excellent space for comedy. They could easily move tables around to customize the room for the show. 

"The way they helped us transform the space and provide sandwiches for 300 people at the end of the night was a beautiful spectacle on its own," he says. 

This year, the show's been sponsored by Jameson, with a focus on pickle-back shots. 

To get updates on this show and other Underground Overground comedy shows, follow along on Instagram here.