UPDATED! Must Love Dogs and Comedy

Must Love Dogs and Comedy

Comedian Jolie Dudley’s and her partner Nic Polanco’s variety show, Must Love Dogs and Comedy is growing!

What was originally a once-a-month at Boris & Horton in the East Village is getting bigger. The show is now staged twice-monthly at Boris & Horton. They’ve played the new Black Lab Cafe on the Upper West Side. On August 31 you can catch it at the Museum of the Dog in Midtown. And they’re hitting the west coast with a show in Los Angeles!

Jolie is a Brooklyn-based comedian who came up with the idea for Must Love Dogs and Comedy during the Covid quarantine.

Like many of us, Jolie spent much of the lock-down spending lots and lots… and lots… of quality time with her dog.

She is the loving owner of a five-year-old Australian Cattle dog mix named Knope that she adopted when she lived in Louisiana. (And yes, she’s named for Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation.)

When the quarantine started to ease, Jolie asked herself what did she want to do?

She had two answers: to produce a comedy show and to spend more time with Knope.

So why not combine the two? And that’s how Must Love Dogs (and Comedy) was born!

Most shows feature seven performers, mostly comedy, but musical and other acts get involved as well.

Jolie hosts each event, along with a little help from her dog. She says Knope follows her around during the show instead of playing with the other dogs in the audience: “I think she’s hoping I will give her stage time, but she doesn’t have a tight five!”