Dutch American Comedian Greg Shapiro Premières in De Kleine Komedie Amsterdam
21 October, 2024
In Amsterdam it’s nice to see your name in lights, but it’s even nicer to see your name on the sign at the theater called De Kleine Komedie.
With the help of Impact Entertainment, I was able to perform the premiere of my 2024 US election show LEAVING TRUMPLAND 2.0: No Country for Old Men.
Would I be prepared? I wasn’t sure… We had only done four tryout performances so far – as well as bits and pieces at various open mic night and standup stages.
I performed Leaving Trumpland 1.0 for the US election in 2020. Unfortunately, not many people saw that show – because it was in the middle of Covid. Remember when you could only perform for 30 or 100 max at a time? And half the shows were canceled before that. My tour booker said, “the reviews were so good! Why don’t you just do a reprise of your 2020 show for the US election 2024?” I said “don’t be ridiculous! That would require the exact same to candidates four years ago. What are the odds of that happening?” …And yet for most of this year, that’s what we had. Biden vs Trump: the rematch. Because they both aged so gracefully.
But then Joe Biden dropped out, Thank the Almighty! …And I had to rewrite almost the entire show. WORTH IT.
Leaving Trumpland 1.0 was my sixth solo show. But with Leaving Trumpland 2.0, I can honestly say since it’s 90% new, it is my seventh solo show.
We had a full house for a Monday night. We even had a second balcony! The theater director was happy, the programmer was happy. My theater booker was happy. The audience was great.
Afterward, I made sure to grab a pose with my director, Michael Diederich…
…and my producer/wife Inez De Goede.
Thanks for the excellent photos from Jelle Draper.
Greg Shapiro Interviewed by Ivo Niehe on ‘Ivo op Zondag,’ 2023
18 October, 2024
In 2023 – for the 30th anniversary of Boom Chicago – Dutch TV legend Ivo Niehe interviewed me about ‘Pep & Greg POLITICALLY INCORRECT.’ It’s a show about the upcoming Dutch – and American – elections. (Recorded in Nov, 2023)
The interview starts out with some photos from the Boom Chicago 30 year anniversary, featuring famous alumni such as Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele and Jason Sudeikis: “and they all learned from the veteran improviser Greg Shapiro.”
Ivo: “Greg, after so many years of blood, sweat and tears- is it annoying that people only want to talk about that video, the ‘Netherlands Second’ video?”
Greg: “No problem. I realize that will probably be my epitaph, on my gravestone.”
Ivo: “You’ve lived in different countries. But you stayed here for love?”
Greg: “Came for work, stayed for love. Yes.”
Ivo: “You’re ‘The American Netherlander.’ How Dutch are you, how American are you?”
Greg: “I’ve now lived in the Netherlands longer than I lived in the US. …I realize I spoke part of that answer in Dutch.”
Ivo: “I know, you’ve said you don’t like speaking the Dutch language.”
Greg: “It makes my mouth feel sad.”
Ivo: “Beautiful language, the Dutch language.”
Greg: “Yes! It just flows right off the back of the throat. When your brain tells you ‘I think we’re choking to death,’ then that’s when you’ve nailed it, the pronunciation.”
Ivo: “Is it still possible to be politically incorrect?”
Greg: “When we say ‘politically incorrect,’ Pep and I – we’ve been writing comedy together since we were 17 – we mean we think politics are being done incorrectly. That’s what our show is about.”
Ivo: “What did you mean when you talked about ‘who counts the votes?’”
Greg: “We were referring to Trump’s Republican party. To them, it doesn’t matter how many people vote for which candidate. It matters what happens afterward. They’re inspired by the quote “It’s not who votes that counts. It’s who counts the votes.”
Ivo: “And who said that?”
Greg: “Josef Stalin.”
Joris Henquet – 23 September, 2024 [translation: Google / Shapiro]
Stand-up Comedian Greg Shapiro Harnesses His Fantastic Trump Impersonation One More Time. This gifted American Dutchman covers all the relevant US campaign news in lively English. But he also examines the emotional undertones.
Greg Shapiro would really like to leave ‘Trumpland’ behind. But still, we need to talk about Donald Trump one more time. …He is a gifted speaker, a lively speaker …You could argue that Trump jokes are easy laughs, when all you need to do is quote his statements to be funny (‘in Springfield…’). Yet Shapiro usually manages to give it a nice twist.
In this tightly constructed performance, he offers more than American politics. He shares his American view of Dutch society, his adventures with the Amsterdam comedy theater Boom Chicago – and he movingly tells of the bond with his family in the US.
The battle between Trump and Harris is neck and neck, the outcome is unpredictable. And so Shapiro will have to continuously adjust his performance in the coming months. But with him, the task is in good hands.
Patrick van den Hanenberg, 23 Sept. 2024
[translation: Google / Shapiro]
Flawless Trump Imitator Wrestles with New Political Reality: Can You Still Make Fun of Trump? An excerpt:
“…The encore of the show was actually the best. Shapiro did a Q&A with the audience – as Trump. Shapiro, one of the founding fathers of Boom Chicago and now half Dutch, responded to the questions like a master improviser. The completely derailed answers were not only very funny, but also gave Shapiro the best opportunity to show his contempt for Trump.”
An excerpt: “Greg Shapiro is a difficult man to dislike. His humour is not belly-laugh, rolling on the floor, tears in your eyes comedy but easy going, relaxed and friendly and, unlike many contemporary comedians, inoffensive – you will be relatively safe sitting in the front row. You feel at home in his company, ready to join him on any path he cares to travel. Yes he’s funny, yes he makes you laugh but his funniness comes from describing familiar situations and our everyday lives from a different viewpoint. But don’t be fooled, behind the avuncular demeanour is a man who does not suffer fools gladly and has a wit and steely eye that will penetrate even the stoutest façade. Truth is the keyword – although he never allows it to stand in the way of a good story.”
Greg Shapiro in Het Parool: “Trump Is Losing the Humor War”
interview by Mike Peek, 21 September, 2024 (translated from Dutch)
In Leaving Trumpland 2.0, Greg Shapiro’s trademark Donald Trump imitation takes center stage. Perhaps for the last time. According to the comedian, Trump’s most effective weapons are now being used against him.
Since 1994, Greg Shapiro has been working with the improvisation comedy theater Boom Chicago. He gained national fame in 2017 with the video by Arjen Lubach in which he imitated Trump’s voice eerily well. Three years later, Shapiro created a satirical show about a polarized America: Leaving Trumpland. Due to the corona crisis, he could only perform his show for tiny audiences. So it’s high time for the 2.0 version. Most of the show has changed. In fact, only one story returns – that of the death of his stepfather, who lived in a nursing home where the COVID rules were ignored.
How do these elections differ from those in 2016 and 2020?
“In 2016, Trump was just a ridiculous character. As comedians, we thought we’d make jokes about him for a few months and then Hillary Clinton would become president. That was naïve. But in 2020 we were perhaps too cautious. Biden kept saying how Trump is dangerous. But now that Kamala Harris is the candidate, she’s calling him ridiculous. The new strategy is to call him stupid again, call him weird. We’ve come full circle.”
Do you think Harris will become president?
“I think she can win, yes. She’s a strong candidate with the right qualifications. I keep thinking about 2008. John McCain was an old white man – and a war hero. Obama was ‘a skinny black guy with a strange name,’ and he didn’t stand a chance. Until – during the debates – Obama turned out to be much more stable. And we saw that same dynamic during the debate between Trump and Harris. He lost his cool, she kept control. I think to many Americans she came across as ‘Presidential.’”
Can it be dangerous to ridicule Trump? “Definitely. All this satire about Trump has brought him even more attention – and he thrives on that. If you make jokes about him, especially as a politician, you have to make sure they’re lethal. So yes talk about how his crowd sizes are shrinking, or come up with labels like ‘weird’ – which clearly gets under his skin. Now the Democrats are showing how you can use his own weapons against him. And let’s face it: up until now Trump has been uniquely good at using humor to his advantage. The nicknames he’d come up with to trash his opponents were sometimes very effective. But now Trump is failing to make anything stick. While the Democrats are successfully labeling him as petty and ridiculous. I think Trump is losing the humor war.”
You say in the show that you are easily distracted. Is that something you have in common with Trump?
“More accurately, I think it’s like ‘Highly Associative Disorder.’ I’ll start talking about topic A, then make a jump to topic Z – without people following how I got there. Trump has that too, yes. You saw it in the debate with Harris. I think even Trump’s MAGA fans were lost, wondering ‘wait, what? What is he talking about?’”
You also point out the international success of former Boom Chicago colleagues such as Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele and Amber Ruffin. Are you jealous of them?
“I have been jealous, yes of course! In 2001, Seth Meyers was was hired at Saturday Night Live, which is a dream for any American comedian. As a kid, I watched the first generation of SNL comedians, like John Belushi and Gilda Radner, and I wanted to do that too. Now I am doing that – but on a different level. So for my famous former colleagues, I sincerely wish them the best. And, if I’m honest, I once lived in New York, and I recognize that attitude. You have to be super ambitious, you have to be a bit ruthless. I just don’t have that in me. Also, I have to admit I find it difficult to work in a large group, because my brain keeps flying off all over the place.”
In the run-up to the US elections, you’re also making the show Politically Incorrect together with Boom Chicago colleague Pep Rosenfeld. How does that performance differ from Leaving Trumpland 2.0?
With Pep, we focus more on the latest news, and there’s a lot of improvisation. Like we explain how Republicans are already making these preparations to challenge any election result they don’t like. So they’ll lawyer up and take it to the Supreme Court, where six of the nine judges are on Trump’s side. Leaving Trumpland is more about me personally. I tell stories related to politics, topics that are close to my heart.”
There’s the moving story about your stepfather who died of corona.
“That was the reason to make Leaving Trumpland in the first place. I wanted to put it in writing. My stepfather lived in a nursing home in Wisconsin. On July 10, 2020, he got corona, and a week later he was dead. I remember my sister calling, feeling terrible that she hadn’t visited him, because she was following the health and safety guidelines. Meanwhile – though it was a national lockdown – the Republicans ignored the rules, because they said it was about freedom. People were just walking in there unprotected all day long. So no, I can’t prove it, but I’m convinced that’s how my stepfather got corona. I was so upset, and angry. Yes, I like to joke about politics. But suddenly it became personal.”
Greg Shapiro is Back in JFK Magazine – ‘Just for Men’
4 September, 2024
It’s been awhile since I was last in JFK Magazine. I think it was when I hosted Comedy Central news in 2008. But now I’m on tour with my 2024 US election show LEAVING TRUMPLAND 2.0: No Country for Old Men. And they invited me again – for a wonderful photo series, previewing my premiere De Kleine Komedie, Amsterdam! Great interview by head editor Jeroen Jansen. And photos by Martijn Senders. Here are some highlights of the interview:
How do I feel about Kamala Harris versus Donald Trump?
I vacillate between Hope and Horror. But at least it’s not all horror. I start my show by putting my cards on the table: No, I am not a fan of Donald Trump. I love him as a punching bag. But I can’t have him as president again. Still – even if he loses in a landslide – he’ll never go away. Good news for me.
When Joe Biden dropped out, I always thought Kamala Harris was the most logical choice to be the candidate. Yes, I think she can win. I just hope Trump actually shows up to debate her. He will completely fall apart. He’ll have a nuclear meltdown in real time. Great for ratings!
Trump says that Kamala Harris isn’t really black. And maybe he has a point. Compared to Donald Trump, her primary characteristic is not black. It’s that she’s Not Old. She’s Not a Criminal. And she’s Not Weird.
Yes, it’s true. I keep a note in my pocket
for when I bump into Trump supporters. SO I don’t rely on Democrat talking points. These arguments are more effective with Trump supporters. Like “Donald Trump disrespects veterans from the military.” Like “He’s not focused, he brings too much chaos.” And whatever you thought about the election results in 2020, “Trump lost 62 out of 62 court cases challenging those results. He lost the lawsuit about the sexual assault. He lost the lawsuit about doing business in New York. And he lost the lawsuit about stormy Daniels. He’s on a losing streak.”
It’s exciting to say: “Greg Shapiro has 3 new shows coming this fall.”
1. US election solo show NL tour: LEAVING TRUMPLAND
2. US election show at Boom Chicago show – with Pep Rosenfeld: PEP & GREG POLITICALLY INCORRECT
3. Pepijn’s Comedy Club in Den Haag – with International Comedians
1. LEAVING TRUMPLAND: No Country for Old Men
Are you ready for the Post-Trump era? Kamala Harris says “We’re not going back,” and Greg Shapiro says “Leaving Trumpland.” With Biden out of the race, the new theme of the 2024 election is ‘No Country for Old Men.’ Specifically, Old Weird Men. Leaving Trumpland 2.0 is Shapiro’s most brutally honest show yet.
Pep & I have been writing comedy together since 1985. We’ve been doing US Election Specials since 2004. Along the way, Pep has written for Saturday Night Live. I’ve hosted Comedy Central News. And now we host an improvised debate between me as the real Fake Donald Trump – which means Pep has to do a Kamala impression. Politically Incorrect!
‘Sharp satire and world class improvisation’ – De Volkskrant
‘Five stars! Greg and Pep have an incredible charisma and are very funny….’ — D Robbinson, Trip Advisor
For solo performers, Den Haag’s Pepijn Theater is one of the most beloved spaces in the Netherlands. For two seasons, I’ve been programming and hosting the English edition of Pepijn’s Comedy Club. And this season we’re going monthly! In September, we’ve got the headliner ALINA SHARIPOVA (Russia / Belgium). In October – from the UK – we’ve got RIA LINA (you may know her from BBC’s Live at the Apollo). And in November we’ve got headliner KURIAKOSE VAISIAN (India).
Greg Shapiro on Improv & Kamala Harris’ Running Mate
9 August, 2024
Watching Kamala Harris introducing Tim Walz as her running mate, I remembered how awkward it can be for a tall white guy to support a short brown woman. I wrote about it in my book (see below). For a lot of white guys watching, it must have been – as Tim Walz would say – “Weird.” You could almost hear MAGA misogynists yelling at the TV: “How is the tall white guy NOT the boss?”
The whole time Harris was speaking Walz’s head kept popping up from behind like grandpa playing peekaboo – but in a supportive way! That is how Walz got the job. He’s a team player. Reportedly, when Harris was interviewing her Veep finalists, she asked the question “do you want to be the last person in the room when the big decisions are made?” And Tim Walz was the only one who answered “whatever you prefer. You’re the boss.”
My background is in comedy improvisation, and Tim Walz’s answer felt very familiar. Yes, improv teaches you teamwork. It teaches you to “make your partner look good.” It teaches you to “think outside the box.” In the case of me Greg Shapiro working with Amber Ruffin, it taught me: “not everyone thinks this way.”
As I wrote in my book The American Netherlander, I performed at Boom Chicago with colleagues like Amber Ruffin (NBC, The Amber Ruffin Show). Many times she functioned as my boss.
AMBER RUFFIN AS THE BOSS
Amber first came to Amsterdam in 2004 to perform with our comedy theater Boom Chicago. Most of our shows were in our theater. But many shows were on location, like corporate events. For corporate events, we would rotate the role of “Point Person,” the team leader for the day. Some days I would be Amber’s boss – and some days she would be my boss.
Amber and I started looking forward to the times she was the boss – purely for the reactions of dumbfounded Dutch men. Amber would make contact with the client by phone before the show, she’d coordinate our arrival time, and she’d say, “See you there!” But when we’d get there, they would not see her. Instead, they’d instinctively make eye contact with me – the tall white man.
“Would you like to see the stage? Would you like to meet the technician?” They would ask me. I would always turn to Amber and say, “Gee, I don’t know! Let me ask my boss!” Most times, the client would shake it off and turn to Amber and say, “Oh, you’re Amber! We spoke by phone!” And the problem was solved…
Just kidding. For the rest of the day, they would keep referring their questions to me, as the tall white guy. And that is how I realized how ‘casual racism’ really works.
Dear White Dudes,
breaking the cycle can be fun! Tim Walz seems to have realized it already. It’s one thing to ‘Check Your Privilege,’ but you can also be try ‘Allyship.’ Like when football coach Walz became faculty advisor for his school’s Gay-Straight Alliance (in the 90s). Like Governor Walz providing feminine hygiene products for public schools. That’s why Republicans are attacking him as “Tampon Tim” – which is some of the best free advertising I’ve ever heard. Please, white dudes continue reminding women voters why Tim Walz is your ally, and why you are “just weird.”
Me, I used to keep painkillers in my bag, in case one of my colleagues had cramps. (I still do.) That is what it means to make your partner look good. And now we’re seeing it on the national stage. I say: “Yes, And.”
Dutch-American comedian Greg Shapiro (Boom Chicago, BNR, Comedy Central) presents a US Election Special. Kamala Harris says “We’re not going back,” GregShapiro says “Leaving Trumpland.” As Donald Trump continues his campaign in the form of a flameout nervous breakdown, the theme of the 2024 election is ‘No Country for Old Men.’ Specifically, Old Weird Men.
Greg Shapiro is known as the voice of the ‘Netherlands Second’ video from ‘Zondag Met Lubach.’ But now – if Trump wins – will Shapiro ever feel comfortable returning to the country of his birth? Shapirokeeps hearing the question: “don’t you want Trump to be president again?” His answer is the same thing Mark Rutte said to Trump in the White House: “Haha! No.”
Leaving Trumpland2.0 is a mix of standup, cabaret and Trump-inspired improvisation. Shapiro wrote Leaving Trumpland 1.0 in 2020 – during COVID. He argues that a Trump comeback would be about as welcome as COVID 2.0. In Shapiro’s most personal moment, he shares the details of how COVID killed his step-father, due to Trump’s fantasyland followers. Leaving Trumpland 2.0 is Shapiro’s most brutally honest show yet.
Reviews Greg Shapiro LeavingTrumpland 1.0
Due to COVID, not many people saw Leaving Trumpland 1.0. But critics did.
THEATERKRANT – ‘SHARP SATIRE OF TRUMP’S AMERICA’ THEATERPARADIJS – ‘RAZOR SHARP HUMOR WITH A PERSONAL TOUCH’ ARTS TALK MAGAZINE – ‘A VERY SHARP AND DANGEROUS EDGE’
Greg Shapiro is one of the originals at Boom Chicago theater in Amsterdam. He has hosted ‘Comedy Central News’ on ComedyCentralNL, and he has appeared on BNR, BNN-VARA, VPRO & ZDF in Germany. And yes, he is known as the voice of Trump in the ‘Netherlands Second’ viral video with 50 million views. As author, Greg has written books such as How to Be Dutch: the Quiz and his latest The American Netherlander: 25 Years of Expat Tales.
——
Greg Shapiro’s Leaving Trumpland 2.0 is performed in English, with some content in Dutch.
Written and Performed by: Greg Shapiro
Directed by: Michael Diederich.
Super Tuesday in the Netherlands! Time for Dutch American comedian Greg Shapiro to vote in the Global Presidential Primary 2024. The Dutch morning show ‘Goede Morgen Nederland’ called me up to ask if I was planning to vote – and how I was planning to vote. (Their channel WNL is more right-wing, so I was cautious.) Since I am still a citizen of the US, I said “yes, of course I’m voting (for Biden)!”
The Global Presidential Primary is fairly new. And so far the Democrat party is the only one organizing it. Until 2020 – if you wanted to vote in the presidential primaries at all – you had to send in an absentee request to register and for a ballot. Now, the Democrat party is organizing a number of in-person voting locations for American expats around the world. Amsterdam is one of the locations, specifically at Boom Chicago.
The TV interviewer asked if I could provide an American-style campaign event. She asked “do you maybe have flags?” Being the American Netherlander, YES I have flags. Here is the (one-minute) TV interview – in Dutch. Below is the transcript in English.
transcript in English:
Presenter: “One of the people who can vote in the Global Presidential Primary is ‘Mr. America first, Netherland second,’ comedian Greg Shapiro.”
Greg: “Yes, I’m celebrating today. I’m celebrating that as the American Netherlander, I can vote in person in the Global Presidential Primary.
I realize Joe Biden is not the ideal candidate. He’s way too old. But he’s the only Democrat who can say he beat Trump once already. And yes, he’s old, but he has more experience than anybody. He knows so many world leaders, NATO leaders, dictators. He knows Putin. For decades. That counts for something.
I have family in America. I have a sister, she has a daughter. And I’m sorry, but the Republicans with their crazy abortion laws. I feel like I have to protect my family if I can. So I’m voting for Biden.”
(as Biden) “Vote today if you want to vote for Biden.”
(as Trump) “And if you want to vote for Trump, you can’t. It’s Democrats only this time around.”
Review ‘PEP & GREG POLITICALLY INCORRECT’ – a Dutch Election Comedy Show, by ARTS TALK MAGAZINE
24 November, 2023
Thank you to ArtsTalk Magazine for coming to review our Dutch election comedy show 2023! Friday, 24 November. The election results were just 36 hours old, and we rewrote half the show: “Pep & I are 99% shocked the Netherlands voted for Geert Wilders… And we’re 1% delighted. For every time back in 2016 when Dutch people told us ‘You Americans are so stupid to vote for a right-wing, anti-immigrant populist with strange blond hair.’ Well? Now how does it feel!?”
So much new material, and yes the emotions were raw. Did the reviewer notice? Oh yes. Rose Fawbert Mills noted that the show could have been tighter. But let’s focus on her positive quotes:
“a satirical night of comedy reviewing the American and Dutch political systems was very appealing and not to be missed.”
“Greg’s Trump impersonation …very, very good.”
Multi-Media
“the use of visuals – photos, memes, video clips – was engaging and entertaining. It gave the show a very ‘current’ feel.”
“the overall the show was good. laughed out loud.”
‘Pep & Greg Politically Incorrect’ is our way of saying we think politics are being done incorrectly. We use the show to celebrate the worst of Dutch & US politics. In the US, President Biden is actually a great politician – but a terrible candidate. And in the Netherlands, there are so many political parties it’s almost like we could start our own party based on the people in the audience that night. SO that’s what we do. And – when Joe Biden gets kicked out as leader of the Democrat Party in the US – why not have him lead our new Dutch party?
Pep & Greg will be back for more dates at Boom Chicago. Potentially in December. And definitely in 2024.
I performed Leaving Trumpland 1.0 for the US election in 2020. Unfortunately, not many people saw that show – because it was in the middle of Covid. Remember when you could only perform for 30 or 100 max at a time? And half the shows were canceled before that. My tour booker said, “the reviews were so good! Why don’t you just do a reprise of your 2020 show for the US election 2024?” I said “don’t be ridiculous! That would require the exact same to candidates four years ago. What are the odds of that happening?” …And yet for most of this year, that’s what we had. Biden vs Trump: the rematch. Because they both aged so gracefully.
