No dirty jokes please: Comics find a new stage inside LA car wash

[August 27, 2019]  By Jane Ross

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles comedian Kurt Braunohler has performed stand-up sets in cargo trucks, schoolbuses and even gondolas, but his latest venture scales things down even further: a four-minute comedy show inside your car as it goes through a car wash.

In a city known for its car culture and notorious traffic, Braunohler said a show inside people's vehicles was the "most L.A. set-up" he could imagine.

"It's very, very intimate," he said. "It's a totally different thing than doing a normal stand-up set."

Audience members purchase their $5-per-car tickets before rolling up to a gas station near downtown Los Angeles for the show. A host performs a warm-up routine while each car waits its turn, then folds in the side mirrors, keys a code into the car wash control panel and leads a round of applause as one of six comedians hops into the passenger seat. Four minutes of joking, soaping, brushing and drying later, the comic jumps out with a "Thank you and goodnight" and the show is over.

"We go to a lot of comedy shows and this is obviously very unique, very different and then my car's really clean," said social media marketing consultant Melissa Gruhin, 29, after her show.

"We love multi-tasking. It's LA. We got it all done in one go. It's great," said dating coach Daliya Karnofsky, 35.

Braunohler said some of the comedians chat casually with their audience, some perform short jokes, some tell one long joke and some even do karaoke.

Around 100 people saw performances on a recent Friday evening. The night was a one-off, but Braunohler hopes "Comedians In Cars Getting Washed" can find a more permanent home soon.

(Reporting by Reuters Television; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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