Interview: Modi On Harnessing The Magic Of Laughter On His Debut Comedy Special, “Know Your Audience”

April 23, 2024 Laurie Fanelli

Modi Rosenfeld, better known simply as Modi, recently celebrated his 30th anniversary of performing stand-up at the famed Comedy Cellar in New York City, where he lives. He has appeared in films and TV series like When Jews Were Funny and Crashing, hosts the popular podcast, And Here's Modi, and he was even honored by Mayor Bill De Blasio in 2018, when June 26 was declared “Mordechi Modi Rosenfeld Day” in the city of New York.

Recently, Modi added another accomplishment to his already impressive resume by releasing his debut stand-up special, Know Your Audience, which is now available on YouTube. The show, which was filmed at the Gramercy Theatre in New York, finds the comedian joking about performing at fundraisers, unpacking the vocabulary of millennials, and, as the title suggests, giving his fanbase a lot to laugh about.

“My audience, for a long time, was a very Jewish audience and within the Jewish audience it was very mixed between religious and not religious and Sephardic and Ashkenazi, which are the different types. I talk about it in the special and explain it to people who aren't Jewish. The special is like a big portal into the Jewish world through comedy and pride,” explained Modi via Zoom the day after his special premiered on YouTube. [The meaning of the phrase] “Know your audience” also became knowing how to work a show where there are people in the audience who are very Jewish and people in the audience who aren't Jewish. And now we have goyims, gays, and theys – we have all of them. Goyims which is what Jews call non-Jewish people – and I talk about that in the special too. And the gays and the theys, they are all a part of it and that's part of knowing the audience.”

Throughout the special – and at shows on the Know Your Audience Tour – Modi masterfully ensures that non-Jewish viewers are included in every joke by translating references to one specific member of his in-person audience, in this case, a comedy fan named Jamie Patrick Chandler. This triple-threat technique keeps up with the pace of the special, offers insight, and provides even more opportunities for humor.

“If I do say anything that is in Yiddish or in Hebrew, I right away translate. Not everybody knows Yiddish, but they know the words a little bit. When you translate it, it brings back all the memories of when their grandmothers said it or whenever they've heard it. Through the entire show, I'm constantly explaining it to the person who is not Jewish in the room. At that show there was a Jamie. Last night there was a Carol. The night before there was a Steven. There's a lot more than usual. I always ask, 'Who's not Jewish,' and you see a quarter of the room raising their hand and that's Moshiach energy,” he explained. “It's a portal into the Jewish world. It's like here, laugh with us. Instead of the hatred, instead of the negativity, laugh with us. If you laugh with us, you understand us. Like when Maz Jobrani is talking about Iranians. We laugh with that. Laughter is going to bring peace. It's not bombs and hatred.”

When watching Know Your Audience, it is clear that Modi views comedy as a tool for spreading goodness in the world. At the top of the set, he shares stories about the awkward – and often hilarious – experience of performing at fundraisers for what could be considered sad or depressing situations. He is a master of setting his audience at ease, and he continues to dedicate time to causes close to his heart even though he is now selling out venues all over the world.

“With all that's happening in Israel, we've been raising money to help people who've been displaced and people who are wounded, and soldiers, and all of the stuff that goes with a tragic war,” he said adding that, even when not performing at specific events to benefit an organization, comedy can be used as a positive force. “Since we shot that tape [Know Your Audience], I've done shows in Berlin, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Vienna. I call it the Reparations Tour, which happened at the same time as the Know Your Audience Tour. It's just been great.”

He added, “When you can use comedy and people laughing to raise money for some disease or some hospital or for some organization, it's next level. There's an extra layer of magic to it. I was just on a podcast talking about how at the UN [The United Nations], instead of having these people screaming and yelling, they should bring in some comics to do a few minutes. Just tell jokes in that UN and it will change everything. It will change the whole dynamic.”

Born in Tel Aviv, Modi came to America with his family at the age of seven.

He explained, “We lived in Long Island in the Five Towns, a very Jewish area, which became even more Jewish. I went to school at Boston University, came back to New York and worked in finance where I imitated all the secretaries. My friend said, 'you should be doing this on a comedy stage.' And that's how the comedy career began.”

Modi still finds the funny in doing impressions of everyday people. On Know Your Audience, he often hilariously imitates folks who aren't famous, but are still recognizable to just about everyone.

“It's not an impression of a celebrity. I don't know how to do any of that. It's more of a character,” said Modi. “It's the Jewish lady who's receiving an award. It's the neighbor. It's a character. It makes it general rather than specific. I'm not doing a Jeff Goldblum imitation. I'm not doing an imitation of whatever celebrity people imitate non-stop or, god forbid, Trump. Enough of the Trump imitations. I just do characters.”

On top of dissecting the differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, discussing his favorite TV shows – currently he's all about RuPaul's Drag Race – and defining “hidden” antisemitism, Modi also takes time out in Know Your Audience to share what it's like to be in a relationship with a millennial. After marrying his husband, Leo, in 2020, Modi has found that Leo's talents and insights have helped him in many aspects of his career especially in developing his next hour, which is already in the works.

“It's a lot less Jewish, but definitely still has a Jewish point of view. It's such good material. It's so much fun putting it together. I just watched the set and I can tell how, 'Oh, wow – I'm gonna fix this here. I'm gonna fix that there.' My husband throws me punchlines that are amazing. It's such a great feeling to be able to work with someone who can watch it and then just throw you a funny line,” Modi said adding that Leo has also helped connect him with agents, labels, and – as he discusses on Know Your Audience – with utilizing modern technology.

Modi added that his new material keeps with his theme of finding common ground through what makes people unique.

“It's that the differences are so similar. It's the similarities that are laughable,” he said. “The Christian and Catholic, and now I'm working on stuff with the confessions, and it's the similarities that are there. Everything is similar and that's a uniting factor.”

Laughter is contagious and sharing that experience creates a bond. Now that Know Your Audience is available on YouTube, Modi hopes that families and friends will come together to watch the show, up on the TV screen, and enjoy a night of shutting out the negativity.

“You know what's really important is that millennials and Gen Zs and all the young people, make sure your grandparents and your parents, if they're older, are able to watch it. Set up a time with them. Make sure they watch on a big TV, whatever you have to do. I'm not tech-savvy – as I talk about in the special – so sit with your grandparents, and watch the special,” he said. “One of the things that our publicist said to us, because he's done other people's specials, he said, 'This is the one special I can go and watch with my parents.'”

Modi added, “Make sure that you share it. I always say, Be the friend that brings the friend to the comedy show.”

The special is called Know Your Audience, but in many ways, it is a chance to get to know Modi himself. It is full of humor, heart, and hilarious storytelling that leaves viewers with a renewed appreciation for the lost art of showmanship.