Boulder JCC Programs
HaHa-Hanukkah: A Festival of Laughs
Problems Registering? Contact Acy Jackson
acy.jackson@boulderjcc.org
Details
Why just light candles when you can light up the whole room with laughter? Join us on Sunday, December 14, for a one-of-a-kind comedy celebration featuring amazing, nationally touring comics. Hosted by Janae Burris, Featuring Dr. Sam Shay, DC, IFMCP, and Co-Headlining Adam Cayton-Holland and Ophira Eisenberg.
Chanukah is a holiday of resilience, light, and joy. What better way to celebrate than with a night of comedy? Just as the menorah brightens the season, laughter lights up our spirits and brings us together. So come for the jokes, and stay for the celebration—because on the first night of Chanukah, nothing pairs better with candles and latkes than a whole lot of laughs.
Start the evening with a pre-show social in the lobby from 6 - 7 pm, show starts at 7 pm! Enjoy delicious latkes, sweet sufganiyot, and a glass of wine as we celebrate together.
About the Comedians
Janae Burris (Just For Laughs/NBC First Look) is a comedian and actor based in Denver, CO. A South Central Los Angeles native and CalArts alumna, she brings a bold, theatrical edge to stand-up. Her comedy offers a personal and opinionated perspective on single motherhood.
Janae has been featured at Portland’s Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Limestone Comedy Festival, Telluride Blues Festival, and Denver’s High Plains Comedy Festival. She’s headlined Ha Ha Harvest in Portland, JokeChella in Fort Collins, and Aspen Laugh Fest. In 2019, she was named a New Face at Just For Laughs in Montreal, and she has been showcased at NACA West, Midwest, and Central.
With a BFA in avant-garde theatre (brag), Janae’s acting credits include performances with Local Theater Co., The Catamounts, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and Off-Center, where she helped launch the immersive world premiere Theater of the Mind. She earned a 2021 True West Award for her acclaimed solo performance in Queen’s Girl in the World at Aurora Fox Theater. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity.
Janae teaches empowerment through stand-up comedy to teenage girls as a camp counselor for Athena Project, and this summer marks her third year hosting Film on the Rocks at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Open Bar Media released her debut comedy special, MomBod, on YouTube in the fall of 2024. She currently tours with Josh Blue and Moms Unhinged, but if you're a local Colorado comic, you might recognize her as part of the New Talent team at Comedy Works.
Dr. Sam Shay, DC, IFMCP, is a 'NeuroSpicy' comic who advocates for NeuroDiverse individuals with a comedic style that is clean, witty, intelligent, and story-driven.
He premiered his 1st 1-hour Comedy Show: "NeuroSpicy: Love, Life, & Comedy on the Spectrum" at RISE Comedy as part of the 2024 Denver Fringe Festival, receiving over 40(!) 5-STAR reviews. His show is available for free on YouTube.
Sam has also featured at The Dairy Performing Arts Center, performed in the 2021-2025 Boulder Comedy Festival, many other Colorado venues, Austin, Dallas, & New Zealand, and keynoted the 2025 annual conference of the American Academy of Therapeutic Humor. His website is www.DrSamShay.com
Adam Cayton-Holland is a nationally touring comic who has appeared on Conan, Corden, Comedy Central, and a bunch of other great stuff that starts with the letter "C."
Along with his cohorts in the comedy troupe, The Grawlix, he created, wrote, and starred on the TV show Those Who Can't, which aired for three seasons. The Grawlix also hosts the longest-running indie comedy show in the country in their hometown of Denver, and has a popular podcast called "Advice Fight.”
Adam has seven albums you can listen to wherever you do that sort of thing, as well as an extraordinary, Wallpaper, currently streaming on Hulu, and another special, 20 Years In Comedy and All I Got Was This Lousy Special, streaming on YouTube. His memoir, Tragedy Plus Time, is available everywhere, and Adam recently adapted that book into the movie See You When I See You, for which he wrote the screenplay.
Ophira Eisenberg is a Canadian-born stand-up comedian, writer, and host. She hosted NPR’s comedy trivia show Ask Me Another for 9 years, where she interviewed and played silly games with hundreds of celebrities, including Sir Patrick Stewart, Awkwafina, Rosie Perez, Yo-Yo Ma, Bob the Drag Queen, Nick Kroll, Chelsea Handler, Jim Gaffigan, Michael C. Hall, and so many others.
As a comic and a parent to a 6-year-old, Ophira is the host of the new comedy podcast Parenting Is A Joke, co-produced by iHeart Radio and Pretty Good Friends Productions.
She can be seen live, regularly headlining across the United States, Canada, and Europe, delivering her unique blend of stand-up and storytelling to a loyal fan base of smart, irreverent comedy lovers. She has appeared at Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival, The New Yorker Festival, The New York Comedy Festival, Moontower Comedy Festival, Bumbershoot, The Nantucket Film Festival, Women in Comedy Festival, and more.
Her new comedy album, Special Plant-Based Jokes, is available on iTunes and is streaming now on YouTube. Lauded as “hilarious, high risk, and an inspiration,” Ophira filmed her comedy special Inside Joke when she was 8½ months pregnant.
She has appeared on Comedy Central, This Week at The Comedy Cellar, Kevin Hart’s LOL Network, HBO’s Girls, Gotham Live, The Late Late Show, The Today Show, and VH-1. The New York Times called her a skilled comedian and storyteller with “bleakly stylish” humor. She was also selected as one of New York Magazine’s “Top 10 Comics that Funny People Find Funny,” and hailed by Forbes.com as one of the most engaging comics working today.
Sunday, December 14 | 6 pm - 8:30 pm | $36
