The Heist is not your average comedy special. If your aunt asks you to explain what stand-up comedy is at Thanksgiving, this isn’t the special you show her. You aren’t going to hear dick jokes¹, personal humor about damn dating apps these days, or learn what every member of the audience does for a living.

You are going to:

•Travel through time

•See actual professional-level magic

•Hear some great one-liners— my favorite is the solar system review (This is experimental stand-up but it is still stand-up after all)

•Witness Abramson get shocked repeatedly with a dog collar by an audience member when she doesn’t like his jokes

•Watch Abramson shave his head—not to completion—on stage

I’ve been listening the History of Stand-Up podcast, which explores how stand-up comedy originated from vaudeville, and in that mindset, it struck me that Abramson’s performance is like a Vaudeville show done by one guy². He weaves professional magic into his routine, adding a touch of theatrical drama, albeit humorously, as he performs a skit where he impersonates an ATM, referencing the style of Mamet’s drama. His use of props somehow cleverly amplifies the comedy instead of relegating him to hack. His interaction with the audience is masterfully integrated and vital to the act distinguishing it from the repetitive and uninspired crowd work that saturates TikTok and Instagram these days. He takes off his shirt, shouts, makes faces, sings, and even devises an acronym to simplify the alphabet. And he does impersonations and takes audience roll call at the beginning of the show. Yes, this is one guy doing all of this.

I know I have mentioned it twice already but I can’t emphasize this enough: Abramson does truly professional-level magic. At the start of the special, he swallows a lit match and that’s before he goes on stage. In his comet bit, which pays dividends as the ultimate callback at the end of the special, Abramson puts a postcard into his mouth and pulls out a seemingly endless string of paper. If that’s not professional-level magic, I don’t know what is³.

Abramson’s comedy is experimental⁴, unique, groundbreaking, not your average night at the comedy club….whatever you want to call it. But what I like most about Abramson’s special is that it highlights how much of an art traditional stand-up comedy actually is. It reveals to both aficionados and newcomers the extensive effort, meticulous planning, and creative craftsmanship that go into producing an hour of comedy. While other comedians may not incorporate magic tricks, write prompts on their bodies, use oversized cue cards, pull balloons out of their pants, or bring razors onstage—elements Abramson employs to great effect—they engage in a similar intellectual rigor to create a film-ready set. To the uninitiated, it might seem as though comedians are spontaneously riffing, but in reality, their performances are the result of years of diligent refinement and honing. Abramson’s special offers a glimpse into this meticulous process.

I hate myself for missing the live premier of this event at the Lincoln Lodge where Ian Abramson apparently stood next to the screen and lip synced the whole thing. Can he help me travel through time so I can go to it?

For the Chicago community, keep in mind that Abramson has chosen to make Chicago his home. He was here, moved to Los Angeles, and now, lucky for us, he is back. He filmed this special in Chicago and he premiered it in Chicago. This is a powerful endorsement of Chicago as a premier city for comedy.

The Heist is available to rent on amazon video, or if you don’t have $5⁵, you can see many bits from it for free on youtube.

How do I close this review out? The Heist is if Penn & Teller, Steven Wright, and Andy Kaufman had a baby. If you don’t believe me that Ian Abramson is amazing, know that I am not alone:

1. In fact, this technically an entirely clean set, a point Abramson points out for his balloon bit to hilarious effect. ↩︎
2. Indeed, Abramson launched “Modern Vaudeville” in Los Angeles in 2017. The show featured not just stand-up, but an eclectic mix of acts including a UFO expert (!), musicians, and a finale with a performer donned in a gold sequin suit jacket, wielding props, puppets, and puns. ↩︎
3. So I don’t know shit about professional-level magic but I was impressed, OK? ↩︎
4. For more insight into Abramson’s brilliant, crazy mind, he created 7 Minutes in Purgatory where comedians perform with headphones in a sound proof booth while an audience watches from a separate room. It’s a genius, original concept that forced all comics into uncomfortable, new zones. ↩︎
5. Really? ↩︎