Schiffman, left, and Jayne (Courtesy Taylor Steele)
A DIY variety show, in an ice cream shop
Why these performers, whose credits include Jimmy Fallon and Samantha Bee, are hosting a night of comedy in the unlikeliest venue
Singer Emma Jayne and comedian Zach Schiffman are getting set to host their variety show in the back room of The Social, an ice cream shop in Prospect Heights. The audience is socializing, as per their instructions, and putting on name tags, also as per their instructions. Most of them seem to know each other and their hosts.
Two new customers amble into the room and whisper “what is this show?” to each other as they choose seats along the back wall.
Before anyone can answer, Jayne strums her baritone ukulele and begins to sing “Vanilla Bean,“ a new song inspired by a flavor served at The Social. “They’re so creative,” says Jackie Cuscuna, co-owner of The Social. “Their first song was ‘Morning in Paris’ [named after another flavor at the shop]. I still sing it in my head.”
The Social’s colorful chairs are arranged in rows in the back room, and Schiffman and Jayne bring lights, mic stands, an amp, and a projector to round out the DIY venue.
For Jayne and Schiffman, The Socialize Show is a second chance of sorts. (Which is fitting because the Social itself is Cuscuna’s second chance too: It is her second ice cream shop with her husband Brian Smith, after financial difficulties forced them to sell their wildly popular chain Ample Hills.)
The Socialize Show is the post-vaccine rebirth of Recess, a variety show Schiffman and Jayne hosted in a CBD Soda pop-up near New York University.
Recess attracted large numbers, but Jayne and Schiffman wanted to create more of a community. It turns out, says Jayne, the guests at Recess were “mostly NYU students trying to get a free drink because they didn’t card.” The crowd at The Socialize Show is there more for sweets than spirits.
“The vibe to me is exactly what we wanted to cultivate,” says Cuscuna. The shop “leans heavily into the ‘70s, with [its] kind of Sesame Street /‘70s logo, and there were a lot of variety shows in the ‘70s and they don’t seem to really exist now. They’re all competition shows.”
This particular night is stand-up heavy, but Schiffman and Jayne, who have hosted The Socialize Show here semi-regularly since November, have also invited interpretive dancers, singer-songwriters, a game of “Porn or Not Porn” hosted by a drag queen, and one especially affecting tap dancing meditation session.
For blue check creators whose work has been featured on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” Schiffman and Jayne are unconcerned with promotion, as reflected by the whopping 167 followers on the show’s Instagram account. “We don’t plan what goes on that account at all,” notes Schiffman. “I’ll post something and wait for Emma to text being like, I can’t believe you posted that.”
Jayne closes the show with a final musical number, and insists to the audience that it is okay to laugh, whether at her or with her is up to them. After a few opening notes and encouraging smiles, Jayne launches into “National Ass Slap Day,” a song about middle school boys and their penchant for flirtation via sexual harassment.
“I used to really want to be famous,” she says. “I guess there’s a part of me that still wants to be witnessed for the art I’m making.” But this? This goofy creative sandbox of a variety show in the back of an ice cream shop? “This is just the girls being the girls,” and they’re having a ball.
Look man, no hands! (Taylor Steele)
The Socialize Show returns to Prospect Heights with its first all-queer lineup on June 30.
