Comedian Elected to Town Council in New Jersey never really finds its groove. (Photo courtesy of Capital Fringe)

Reminds us of: Uncle David’s semi-rambling stories at Rosh Hashanah (you have one too, I assume?)

Flop, Fine or Fringe-tastic?: Flop. I’m sorry Uncle David.

After settling in with a glass of sparkling rose from the wine bar below, the spirited Radetzky-March, Op. 228 (thanks Shazam) got me in the mood for some punchy, NJ-based political humor. Standing in front of a yard sign, former Flemington Borough councilmember Joey Novick took to the mic and opened with “I’m a comedian and I’m trying out some new material.” Afterward, my partner and I argued about whether or not that was part of the show (I thought the introduction seemed to be a mini-set meant to illustrate his other career) or if this really was just a hodgepodge of stories that he was just working out in front of a new crowd (my partner’s take). That should probably tell you enough about what to expect going into this show.

There’s few better times to be making jokes about New Jersey politicians than right now, so I was disappointed to find it was mostly stories about Novick’s father, platitudes about governance, and higher-level dad jokes (at one point, he noted that the word “politics” is made up of the words “lie,” “tics,” and “pol,” and so politics means “liars sucking the blood of the people”). Novick has an interesting backstory of getting elected as a Democrat with zero experience to the council of an extremely Republican town and he’s clearly a practiced storyteller (we did learn some interesting tidbits about corruption in colonial New Jersey), but the show (set?) never really builds to anything or finds a groove.

Where to See It: Pursuit Wine Bar (1421 H St NE) on July 12 at 7:45 and July 13 at 10:30 p.m. Buy tickets here.

See here for all of DCist’s 2017 Capital Fringe coverage. All shows are $17, with a button ($7) required for entry.