Editor’s Note: Sometimes, you just need a good facelift to freshen things up, so that’s what we’ve done here. It’s the same old ReVue Stage, with a little bit of a twist where we put together a short list of the best comedy releases from the past month, and deliver them all in a tight, one-stop package. So come on over and check out some of the best specials and albums that comedy had to offer this past month, and maybe you’ll find your new favorite thing to vibe out to along the way.
Plain and simple, January in New England is miserable — and not just because the Patriots’ season ended as soon as the ball dropped. While we’ve been stuck inside amidst bitter temps and that wonderful late-season snow arrival, the comedy train has rolled through the station at full force to start 2025 off on a funny note, much to our pleasure to keep us occupied from the darkest days of the year.
Casey Crawford, Joke Writer
Starting things off early, Casey Crawford unleashed Joke Writer, a brand new album of top-tier delivery from one of the most potent locally-grown voices around. Although it was released in an audio format, Crawford’s ability to paint a picture with his words makes for a fully-immersive experience as he dives into a myriad of topics that, while heavily rooted in local references, feel global and for a much broader audience than those in attendance at The Rockwell in Somerville.
Tom Green, I Got a Mule!
As Tom Green points out in his brand new Amazon Prime special, I Got a Mule!, it’s been a few years since the days of “Slutmobile.” His hair might be grey now, and “The Bum Bum Song” may no longer be the biggest song on MTV, but Green is still as balanced in his approach of spastic, playfully dark, and bluntly awkward comedy as he was at the turn of the century. Joined on stage by his dog Charlie, Green brings us up to speed on what he’s been up to since returning to Canada to tend to a “radish” farm, and in the process, he paints a portrait of a genuinely content artist who is now just looking to make people laugh and have a good time on stage without the weight of global superstardom crushing down on him.
It’s not to say we didn’t miss his comedy, but we also didn’t realize that, after two decades out of the limelight, the comedy of Tom Green is exactly what we needed to help us a little warm and fuzzy inside during the frosty winter months.
Roy Wood Jr., Lonely Flowers
For all of the creative and comedic force that pushed its way through the wind and the snow to start the year, arguably none came out swinging as heavy as Roy Wood Jr.’s Lonely Flowers. Arriving on Hulu right at the midpoint of the month, the former Daily Show star returned with that familiar wisdom dressed in sarcasm and comically dissected frustration that has made him such a valuable voice in the realm of socially and politically-concerned comedy over the last few administrations, all the while keeping a core foundational message of just urging us all to simply be better as a collective as we navigate the insanity of the world that unfolds with more intensity every day.
Of course, as Wood has delivered in the past, it’s not all just riffing on headlines, as he remains as autobiographical as ever, harnessing the wit and snap of a “no nonsense” southern grandmother and a deeply-ingrained dose of empathy and encouragement that is so sorely needed right now — and it’s no surprise that Wood is the one to deliver that while so obviously at the top of his craft as one of the best in the business.