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It's a question humans have been asking for millennia: How do we define love? From Shakespeare's "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" to Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It," these ardor-related questions elicit complicated responses.
Brooklyn comedian Zach Zimmerman now has his own answer, and he's unveiling it in a comedy special titled "Surprise Me," which makes its debut on YouTube at 8pm on Tuesday, April 22. In the hour-long show, he digs into a variety of different types of love, from parent-child to romantic to polyamorous—always with a humorous twist. It's free to watch and sure to be hilarious; here's a sneak peek at what to expect.
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This special brings together Zimmerman's greatest hits pulled from his eight years of stand-up comedy in NYC, his appearances on late night TV shows and his book Is It Hot in Here (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)? The special also brings in new, never-before-heard material, as well.
"The narrative thrust of it is about my family and trying to figure out a good definition of love," Zimmerman told Time Out New York. "So my mom tells me she loves me unconditionally, but she goes to the ballot box and votes against my rights. My ex said he loved me, but then cheated on me and dumped me on a plane. So I'm trying to figure out, what does love mean? And eventually I come to a conclusion by the end of the special navigating it all, and I won't spoil it. It's a surprise."
The plot includes bell hooks, doughnuts, evangelical Christianity, Grindr and many more surprising twists and turns.
While nearly a decade of stand-up work has gone into this special, Zimmerman said he's been working on it seriously for about a year. He partnered with production company Pretty Good Friends to create the show, and you'll notice the wardrobe and set details by Dos Jefes. When the show debuts at 8pm on April 22, Zimmerman himself will be in the chat live. ("If you don't like it, please don't comment, 'bad' because that will destroy me and my fragile ego," he joked.)
"I want to delight my current fans and find some new ones," Zimmerman said.
In terms of his familial relationships, the 36-year-old queer comedian who grew up in southern Virginia struggles to reckon with his mother who voted for President Donald Trump. In many ways, he said, it's a microcosm of American culture nowadays: "Can you coexist with someone who you fundamentally disagree on so many ways?"
As for romantic love, Zimmerman isn't shy about sharing his heartbreaks on stage.
"I've found people like my suffering and failures and foibles," he says. "I love sharing my horrific dating stories."
Watch "Surprise Me" on YouTube. It debuts on Tuesday, April 22 at 8pm. And catch Zach Zimmerman co-hosting the Pretty Major comedy show with Jay Jurden every other Tuesday at Union Hall in Brooklyn.
Though the special is free to watch, you can offer monetary support to show your love for "Surprise Me." Support starts at $35 for digital downloads and a surprise in the mail and goes up to $5,000 for digital downloads plus "surprises delivered to your door by a fabulous, local drag queen."