All Of It: Josh Sharp & Sam Pinkleton Present TA-DA Off Broadway

Host: Alison Stewart
Guests: Josh Sharp (comedian, writer, performer), Sam Pinkleton (director, Tony winner), Morgan Bassichis (comedian, collaborator)
Aired: August 29, 2025

Overview

This episode of All Of It focuses on the off-Broadway show TA-DA, created and performed by comedian Josh Sharp and directed by Tony Award-winner Sam Pinkleton. The conversation explores the show’s unique blend of stand-up, theater, technology (notably, 2,000 meticulously timed PowerPoint slides), and personal storytelling—especially its reflection on queerness and family, centering on Sharp’s childhood as a magician, coming out, and his relationship with his late mother. The episode also touches on the process of making experimental, intimate theater in New York, the emotional and technical demands of TA-DA, and a broader discussion of queer comedy, featuring insights from comedian and activist Morgan Bassichis.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins and Artistic Journeys

• Josh Sharp found his path to comedy in high school and college, using humor to connect with diverse groups and falling deep into improv. His journey led him from North Carolina to NYC’s Upright Citizens Brigade theater.
  • Quote: “I can make everybody laugh so I can get along with all the different groups, but did not think it was a career path.” (02:19)
• Sam Pinkleton loved theater from a young age, particularly organizing and choreographing. Directing became a passion after being “saved by theater” during his time at an arts high school.
  • Quote: “I was a kid who was really saved by theater. Capital S. Saved.” (02:51)

2. Developing TA-DA: Between Stand-Up and Theater

• Sharp explains TA-DA is not traditional stand-up; it’s a hybrid, where the technical challenge and theatrical elements are part of the joke and the artistry.
  • Quote: “I wanted every moment [for you] to see that I’ve had to memorize 2,000 cues, that I’ve worked, like, deeply too hard on this for you.” (05:20)
• Pinkleton emphasizes the “beating heart” of the show—its humor carries emotional weight, and theater’s ephemeral, communal nature is central.
  • Quote: “It is a really special thing that theater can do… be like: ‘Hey, everybody, we’re in this room together for a very short amount of time, much like our time on earth.’” (07:21)

3. Live Performance: Audience Engagement & Technical Playfulness

• The show begins with a highly choreographed greeting to disorient the audience and signal the ride ahead.
  • Quote: “The first couple minutes is just like an intensely choreographed series of greetings where I am sort of nonsense babbling, but exactly on text to the words you’re seeing behind me.” (11:01)
• PowerPoint slides aren’t mere visuals—they’re treated as a “scene partner.” Timing between live speech and projected text can heighten jokes, contradict, or amplify emotion.
  • Quote (Pinkleton): “I think they are a scene partner in a way… I do think it’s like a two-person show, one person is Josh and one person is a screen.” (13:35)
• The clicker is integral to the authenticity of the performance (Sharp even hands it to the audience to prove it’s real), underscoring the “tightrope walk” and honesty.
  • Quote (Sharp): “We’re obsessed with not lying. We’re obsessed with the show really, really putting all of its cards on the table.” (12:57)

4. “Smart and Dumb”: The Tone and Intention of TA-DA

• Despite the academic look (2,000 PowerPoint slides), the writing and delivery are “aggressively approachable” and even “manic.”
  • Quote (Pinkleton): “I think what you’ve done is the smartest thing I’ve ever seen and the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen, which is two things at once.” (15:43)
• The show uses repeating slide cues for comedic and narrative effect (e.g., “ta da” as shorthand for “gay”), visually reinforcing the layered meanings.
  • Quote (Sharp): “Anytime I say ta da, it’s gay. But that, to me, is funny because I can put an idea in your head visually.” (16:17)

5. Balancing Humor and Heart: Sharpe’s Family Story

• At its core, TA-DA reveals the story of Sharp’s mother, her cancer diagnosis, and her “mission” to have her son come out before her death. Honest storytelling is laced with irreverent, “crass” humor.
  • Quote (Sharp): “After 30 minutes of incredibly gay and crass material, I tell this story about how my mom… made it her mission to, like, gently bully me out of the closet before she passed away.” (22:33)
• The mixed tone (“dang, that’s sad… and dang, that sounds amazing”) and the dual streams of information (text and speech) mirror the contradictions of life itself.
  • Quote (Sharp): “It’s such a sad story, and yet I feel such a sense of, like, optimism and joy about it… I think [it] allows you to feel two things at once.” (24:20)
• Pinkleton remarks on how this odd, energetic format is perfectly suited for the story’s contradictions.
  • Quote: “…this format feels like the only way you ever could have told this story…” (24:51)

6. The Joy and Intimacy of Small Theater

• Both Sharp and Pinkleton express deep appreciation for off- and off-off-Broadway work: the ability to see every audience member’s face makes the performance more interactive, immediate, and meaningful.
  • Quote (Pinkleton): “I like making theater and thinking of it as an experience of hospitality… I find in smaller rooms [welcoming everyone] is sometimes just like a little easier to do in a way that’s authentic.” (20:17)
  • Quote (Sharp): “Greenwich House in particular is 199 people… enough people for a palpable energy… you want people just packed in comfortably.” (21:28)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Moment | |-----------|----------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:19 | Josh Sharp | “I can make everybody laugh so I can get along with all the different groups, but did not think it was a career path.” | | 05:20 | Josh Sharp | “I wanted every moment you to see that I’ve had to memorize 2,000 cues… I do think at its root it’s stand up, but it’s housed in this device that makes me hustle harder than you think I should have to.”| | 07:21 | Sam Pinkleton | “It is a really special thing that theater can do… ‘Hey, everybody, we’re in this room together for a very short amount of time, much like our time on earth.’” | | 11:01 | Josh Sharp | “The first couple minutes is just like an intensely choreographed series of greetings where I am sort of nonsense babbling, but exactly on text to the words you’re seeing behind me.” | | 13:35 | Sam Pinkleton | “I think they [the slides] are a scene partner in a way… I do think it’s like a two-person show, one person is Josh and one person is a screen.” | | 12:57 | Sam Pinkleton | “We’re obsessed with not lying. We’re obsessed with the show really putting all of its cards on the table.” | | 15:43 | Sam Pinkleton | “What you’ve done is the smartest thing I’ve ever seen and the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen, which is two things at once.” | | 16:17 | Josh Sharp | “Anytime I say ta da, it’s gay. But that… is funny because I can put an idea in your head visually.” | | 22:33 | Josh Sharp | “I tell this story about how my mom… made it her mission to, like, gently bully me out of the closet before she passed away.” | | 24:20 | Josh Sharp | “It’s such a sad story, and yet I feel such a sense of, like, optimism and joy about it… I think it allows you to feel two things at once.” | | 24:51 | Sam Pinkleton | “This format feels like the only way you ever could have told this story… it is an incredibly bizarre format that I’ve never seen before…” | | 20:17 | Sam Pinkleton | “I like making theater and thinking of it as an experience of hospitality… in smaller rooms that’s a little easier to do in a way that’s authentic.” | | 21:28 | Josh Sharp | “Greenwich House in particular is 199 people… enough people for a palpable energy… you want people just packed in comfortably.” |

Bonus Segment: Morgan Bassichis on Comedy, Activism, and Stagecraft

Key Points:

• Activism is inseparable from art: Bassichis discusses the intersection of artistic, political, and comedic work, especially against the backdrop of contemporary violence and activism.
  • Quote: “It’s kind of inextricable, my artistic and political commitments… feel like it is my responsibility [to act against injustice].” (27:14)
• On entertainment and gravity: Pinkleton instilled in Bassichis the need to “earn” sincerity—balance humor to make the gravity of the message resonate.
  • Quote (Bassichis): “You have to earn the gravity, you gotta earn the sincerity, you have to earn the message… it’s Mary Poppins, you know, it’s Spoonful of Sugar.” (28:04)
• Mic cord as metaphor and choreography: The choice of a long microphone cord (rather than wireless) became a physical, generational symbol and a tool for stage presence.
  • Quote: “It kind of also represents this kind of umbilical cord… of like, we are passing down the mic and we need to get on stage and …try to make people laugh…” (29:02)

Show Structure & Flow

• 00:09–02:13: Introduction—how Stewart discovered TA-DA, show context
• 02:13–04:01: Josh’s and Sam’s backgrounds in comedy and theater
• 04:01–08:59: What makes TA-DA different from stand-up, technical aspects, and artistic intent
• 10:57–15:00: How the show opens, use of slides, interaction with audience, authenticity
• 15:00–17:22: Tone (“smart and dumb”), examples of visual gags and running jokes via slides
• 17:45–21:28: Rehearsal process, camaraderie, gratitude, the power of small theater venues
• 22:16–25:13: Emotional core—telling personal stories, the balance of humor and heart
• 25:13–26:39: Sam Pinkleton’s other projects and the wider context of queer performance in NYC
• 27:14–30:01: Morgan Bassichis on activism, stagecraft, and the physical metaphors in performance

Takeaways

• TA-DA is an inventive, heartfelt, and deeply funny show—a hybrid of manic stand-up, visual theater, and personal storytelling.
• The PowerPoint slides are not just a gimmick, but a second character, challenging audience expectations and deepening both comedy and pathos.
• The environment of intimate, off-Broadway theater is essential for the audience-performer connection, shaping the energy and emotional effect.
• The episode spotlights a vibrant, collaborative queer comedy scene in NYC that balances levity, sincerity, and activism.

For More Information

• TA-DA is playing at Greenwich House Theater, now extended through September 27th.
• Sam Pinkleton’s current and upcoming projects: directing Rocky Horror on Broadway and Morgan Bassichis’ Can I Be Frank at Soho Playhouse.