Morgan Jay is a worldwide comedic sensation. He is based in Los Angeles and has made appearances on MTV’s “Wild’N’Out”, NBC, and Comedy Central. Jay has toured the world, performing at numerous well-known venues and consistently selling out shows. He has developed his own unique comedy style that has taken over social media. Unlike many live performers, he actively encourages fans to record and share photos and videos from his shows on social media. Since many people discover his music through clips posted online, audience members help expand his reach by sharing their favorite moments and introducing new listeners to his work.
I had the pleasure of attending one of his shows at the iconic Fox Theater on June 5. Before he took the stage, two comedians opened for him. They each did their own stand-up sketch, asking the audience some questions and joking about relatable topics, sharing stories from their careers. Finally, Jay took the stage, except he was actually upstairs in the balcony, sitting in a seat and taking a nap on the shoulder of an audience member. He immediately began running through the balcony crowd and singing his opening song, “The Show Has Started.”
Many times throughout the performance, he would have audience members contribute to his sketches. Frequently, he would run all throughout the crowd looking for whom he would pick. Sometimes he would ask them for stories or experiences about who they came to the show with, or have entirely random conversations. Often, he would put on an exaggerated autotune filter and ask the people to finish the lyrics, repeat after him, or even freestyle. He would stop the music if people messed up the lyrics or sang when they weren’t supposed to.
His sketches were very unique and had such interesting spins on popular topics or relatable experiences. Sometimes, even covering really serious issues through the light of his comedic music sketches. Sketches from this show included a dramatic reading of popular ‘BookTok Romantasy’ followed by his own original version. He performed a song composed of messages submitted by his social media followers about things they never said to those who hurt them in relationships. There was an original series of rhyming spoken word poems with all sorts of pop culture references sprinkled in. He even did a live game of Alien Smash or Pass with well-known fictional characters and audience participation. He ended the show with his classic closing song “Will You Be My Dad?” where he asked audience members to do iconic father-son activities with him, like playing catch or teaching him how to tie a tie. He even debuted a brand new song he wanted to test the audience reaction of called “More Than Meets the Eye”. It involved his camera man finding certain stereotypes in the audience and Jay listing off thoughts, habits, or actions that didn’t match the person, like that they fart in the car with the windows up.
All in all, this was an amazing show to watch. I had seen him on social media for a while and found him hilarious, so when I got the notification that he was performing nearby, I knew I had to see him. It was such a pleasure to be able to just sit and laugh for a few hours and not worry about anything else. He was such an entertaining person not only to listen to, but also to watch. His crowd work skills are like nothing I have ever seen, and he involves the audience so much in his sketches. There was never a dull moment in the entire 2-hour show.
You can find him on Instagram and TikTok @morganjay for more clips of his shows, and you can find his live comedy special recording linked below.
Written by: Marissa Stoll
Photos & Videos by: Marissa Stoll