Chapel Hill native Maddie Wiener headlines weekend of comedy shows at Varsity Theatre

Last Friday night was "kind of surreal" for comedian Maddie Wiener. 

Surreal, because she headlined a stand-up comedy show at Franklin Street’s Varsity Theatre — a place the Chapel Hill native has been going since kindergarten, she said. 

Her comedy has taken her across the country since then, including regular performances in Chicago and New York City, where she is currently based. She returned home to Chapel Hill to headline two nights of shows, Sept. 13 and 14, at the Varsity. 

Earlier this year, the Varsity partnered with Asheville’s Funny Business Agency to bring national comics to the venue. 

Despite the new programming, it is still the classic Varsity — popcorn crackled in the lobby as people got their tickets scanned, before walking down the red tunnel to their seats. 

Music blasted from speakers on the stage before the host, guitar-comedian Josh Rosenstein, took the stage. His sticker-covered guitar and harmonica accompanied his jokes, which included jabs at stereotypical guitar riffs and some original jingles.

Rosenstein then introduced the next comedian, another Chapel-Hill native, Ben Gerber. The28-year-old current Chicagoan talked about his windy-city messy relationships and his studio apartment residence.

Despite his local roots, Chapel Hill was not safe from ridicule — southern accents, high school classmates and even the Forest Theatre took shots. Although, he was admittedly envious of the latter — at least it’s performers could be outside enjoying the fresh air, he said, while he was cooped up in a movie theatre competing with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."

Next to the stage was Wiener herself. A mid-20s Brooklyn resident, she joked about her sexuality, mental health and eating habits, not shying away from any self-depreciation. 

Her set included complicated societal topics, like sexual assault and incel culture, all fitting into one of her acts' larger themes of humans learning (and oftentimes struggling) to live in a rapidly changing environment, drastically different than the ones our old "caveman" selves used to inhabit. 

Wiener said that the ability to talk about lofty, heady topics in a way that is easy to understand is one of the cool things about stand-up.

“You're free to explore any topics you want, but you also have to keep it grounded in a way that people can get in their bones if that makes sense,” Wiener said. “And I think sometimes that makes it a more accessible way to talk about ideas than like seriously writing an essay.” 

Then she cracked a line about Anne Frank blowing up the moon — a joke that her brother, Jake Wiener, a UNC senior who was in attendance, proudly took partial credit for. 

“She told me before she did it, and I convinced her to do it, and now she’s doing it, and I’m so happy,” he said. “I loved that one.” 

While the audience was a bit sparse — Gerber riffed that the scattered crowd was reminiscent of old COVID social distancing — the laughs filled the room. Senior Connor Lopez said he was in tears at one point, doubled over by a joke Wiener told about still having "fat habits" in her eating despite her weight loss. Lopez said that stand-up at the Varsity, which he called one of the last classic Franklin Street spots, is the perfect addition to the nightlife scene in Chapel Hill. 

“It’s just such a good time,” Lopez said. “I feel like when it hits, it can hit right. Like, perfect.”

After the show, Maddie stuck around in the theatre to talk to everyone who came up to her. She caught up with some of those she knew, and took a picture with a girl she shared a heartfelt moment with — as part of Maddie's material resonated with her. 

She thanked everyone who she talked to for coming out to see the show, bringing almost everyone in for a hug.