Politically-Charged Comic Hari Kondabolu Makes Atlanta Stop
Stand-up comic Hari Kondabolu is in Atlanta for shows at the Laughing Skull Lounge this weekend.
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With a background in comparative politics and as a human rights organizer, Hari Kondabolu wasn’t sure if his dream to be a comic performer would come true.
Now that it has, he’s bringing some of his academic studies – which include an advanced degree from the London School of Economics – to the stand-up stage.
Kondabolu, who is performing through Sunday at the Laughing Skull Lounge in Midtown Atlanta, told “City Lights” producer Erin Wright he’s aiming to find the right balance between art and message.
“I want to have something to say and be good at stand-up,” said Kondabolu, whose influences include “The Clash” and comics Lenny Bruce, Chris Rock and Margaret Cho.
“I want to be good at the craft and play with the form like my heroes did.”
His subject matter draws heavily from his Indian-American heritage, as well as the usual American hot buttons: gay marriage, immigration, colonialism, military policy, patriotism and culture.
Kondabolu recorded a comedy album, “Waiting for 2042,” last year, and has been a full-time writer on the FX program “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell.”
A native of New York, Kondabolu also has appeared on a variety of late-night shows, including those hosted by Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman, who recently signed off after nearly 30 years.
“It feels like a certain kind of television is done,” Kondabolu said about Letterman’s retirement. “There was a mourning period for so many of us who love him.”
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