“I’m excited to come to Tarrytown!”
Kathy Griffin, a celebrated comedian and actress whose career includes everything from two Emmy wins for “My Life on the D-List” to a Grammy for Best Comedy Album in 2014, is currently performing stand-up across the country for her “New Face, New Tour,” which will come to Tarrytown Music Hall on February 28th. We sat down for a conversation with her the other day.
“I have a new face, and all new material as well,” she quipped, promising the audience of her upcoming performance a distinct routine.
Griffin holds the Guiness World Record for the highest number of stand-up comedy specials, and has performed live on countless other occasions. She began “New Face, New Tour” last November with a show at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. When asked how she picks performance venues, and why Tarrytown made the cut, she cited fan demand. “It’s because I sold out last time,” further explaining, “so my last tour I did 75 cities, and this tour I’m doing 30 of the cities I sold out.”
As for Tarrytown itself, she distinctly remembered the village. “Last time I played there, they actually had like a buffet setup in my dressing room… and it was very delicious.”
Griffin recalled, “normally I go backstage and it’s a Diet Coke and peanut butter, and a banana.” According to the comic, “Tarrytown really laid it out.”
Addressing how the contents of her upcoming show might compare to the last, Griffin emphasized it consists of “all new stuff,” explaining, “my last tour was really about all the things I went through with my cancellation,” referring to widespread backlash from a 2017 photoshoot in which she held a prop that depicted a severed head resembling President Donald Trump.
“Last time I played Tarrytown, there was a protest outside of the theater of Trumpers.” Griffin called it “fabulous.” This was in 2024, long after her controversial photoshoot. “There’s this guy who doesn’t like me… he makes videos about me and his name is Joe the Box.” Joe the Box used social media to promote protests against Griffin. She playfully mocked his city accent, and shared that protesters portrayed her head in effigy.
The longtime entertainer is focused on the future. “I think I’m un-cancelled now… I have a YouTube show that does pretty well called “Kathy Griffin: Talk Your Head Off” every Tuesday … so I’m out there with that … and I just always have new material, and love, love, love touring.”
On a recent episode of “Talk Your Head Off,” Griffin had spoken about performing in four different areas, hundreds of miles apart, over four nights. In our interview, Griffin said that engaging with people from different walks of life is “the best thing about live touring, and that’s why live touring is always my number one job. I love the flavor each town has… and going to Concord, New Hampshire, places like that… I like to go to the real America, you know?” She clarified that she tours “the big cities too.”
After mentioning Tarrytown’s status as a tight-knit community, I asked Griffin if she believes she brings audiences together through comedy. “Oh yes, me and Grindr, the two of us work in tandem,” she teased, going on to say her performances are “a bonding experience.”
“The audiences that come to see me know it’s just me, I don’t have an opening act or anything, and they know what they’re in for. So, I don’t hold back at all. When I’m live, I’m even worse than when I’m on TV.”
Kathy Griffin is an outspoken critic of the Trump Administration and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). “I think everyone has seen everything from little Liam Ramos being detained and sent to Texas with his dad…everyone’s seen the image of him with his Spiderman backpack… so everyone’s affected by it. I start my shows with having the audience chant F— ICE five times… I think it’s a good way to just kind of get it off your chest.”
Speaking further on current issues, “I make a point to mention every show Renée Good was a gay woman.” Speaking of Trump, she added “…I think he’s going to go for the queer community.” On a more locally-political note, Griffin said she may joke about suggestions from the White House to cancel midterm elections. “Never in my life has there ever been a question whether or not midterms will even f—ing happen.”
“I do start my show with talking to the audience, because I’ve never done stand-up where the political climate was this intense and serious… He’s now doing things that I’ve never even seen in my 65 years.” She continued. “People are being murdered on live television, so I talk about that for a minute, and then I get into the funny.”
Griffin expressed that she wants her shows “to be a laugh break” from the environment she describes. “I do think there’s hope, and I do think you need laughter breaks no matter how intense your life is, or what you’re going through. I know laughter got me through cancer, and all kinds of difficult things.”
“I do think laughter is truly a healing medicine.”
Griffin’s upcoming venue, Tarrytown Music Hall, is the oldest theater in Westchester, and among the 6% of American theaters that were built before 1900. She’ll be on stage for about 1.5 to 2 hours at the historic venue. Regarding a question about how she’ll pace her performance to fit this time frame, she revealed, “I start with local material… I’ll look up fun facts about Tarrytown, or the venue.” This research dictates the material she’ll use to kick off her show, and naturally mixes up her routine. She went a step further to say, “that’s how the audience knows every show is different. I want them to know it’s very improvisational, I don’t know what I’m going to say any more than you guys know.” Enthusiastic, she remarked, “We go on a ride together, so look out Tarrytown… I will be making fun of you guys.”
She undergoes a similar fact-finding process in preparation for every venue. “I look up everything: the celebrities that are from there, any kind of fun facts about a historical building, or whatever’s the industry in the town.” Griffin assured us, “if there’s like an embarrassing Congressman that made an embarrassing comment, I’ll bring that up. I love doing the research and development.”
When asked what she’d like to say to locals who might attend her Tarrytown show, Griffin noted, “I’m so lucky, I have people who write me and say “I’ve seen you nine times live.” That’s amazing to me, I’ve never even seen anybody nine times. I want them to know, come for a nice time. It’s gonna be all new stuff: new face, new tour.”
Closing things off, she elucidated, “I’m just so glad to be un-cancelled and be given the opportunity to do my job again, I missed it so much. I just love seeing you guys out in real life.”
Kathy Griffin comes to Tarrytown Music Hall on Saturday, February 28th, at 7PM. Tickets are available for purchase from the Hall’s official website.
