Emmy-winning comedian Ali Wong brings stand-up tour to Maui
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Named among Time magazine's 100 most influential people in 2020 and 2023, actress and comedian Ali Wong's honors include two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award nomination.
Performing July 30 and 31 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Wong appeared in her latest Netflix special, "Single Lady," in 2024, exploring the highs, lows and unexpected surprises of dating post-divorce. Walking out to a standing ovation, Wong started by riffing on how boys in her high school "weren't into charismatic A-cups. Now all these men are after my divorced-mom energy."
Wong grew up in San Francisco, to a Vietnamese mother and a Chinese-American father. "I was pretty quiet around my family," she told InStyle. "When I first started, (people) were like, 'Who is this person?'"
After attending the University of California, Los Angeles, majoring in Asian American studies, Wong got a job as a receptionist and spent time writing jokes, hoping to perform at San Francisco comedy clubs.
"I was 23 when I found stand-up," she told Into the Gloss. "I was at an open mic in San Francisco, and I thought, 'Oh, this is what a calling is.' People talk about falling in love, but then you finally feel it for the first time, and it's only then when you understand what the big deal is. That's how I feel about stand-up."
After SF Weekly selected her as The Best Comedian of 2009 and the San Francisco Bay Guardian awarded her Best of the Bay, Wong decided to depart her hometown.
Her breakout moment arrived with the 2016 Netflix special "Baby Cobra," filmed while she was seven months pregnant.
This groundbreaking special quickly went viral, cementing her status as a bold new comedic force. "Ali Wong draws loud applause but also silent awe when she steps onstage," noted LA Weekly. "Wong performs her set decked out in a slinky, skin-tight, horizontal-striped dress, her third-trimester belly protruding underneath. It's a sight rarely seen in the comedy world."
In "Baby Cobra," Wong talked about having a miscarriage 11 weeks into her first pregnancy. "My mom, she's from a third-world country, and when I told her I had one she was, like, 'Where I'm from that's like losing a pair of shoes.'"
Not long before she taped "Baby Cobra," tickets for a show she headlined in San Francisco sold so poorly that the proprietors put a block of them up for sale on Groupon. She even once bombed at a gig with Eddie Murphy in the audience.
Wong followed "Baby Cobra" with the successful Netflix specials "Hard Knock Wife" and "Don Wong."
Interviewed by The New Yorker, Amy Schumer praised Wong as "a revolutionary in comedy."
"A joke is never finished," Wong wrote in her memoir "Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life." "There's always more material to write. In a sense, stand-up is a lot like fashion: It demands innovation with every new show, and you're only as good as your last collection."
Beyond stand-up, Wong built an impressive acting career. She co-wrote and starred alongside Randall Park in the romantic comedy "Always Be My Maybe," earning acclaim for its witty script and fresh take on modern romance. She has also appeared in films including "Birds of Prey" and voiced characters in animated projects such as "Big Mouth" and "Tuca & Bertie."
In 2023, Wong received widespread critical acclaim for starring opposite Steven Yeun in the comedy-drama "Beef." Her nuanced performance as entrepreneur Amy Lau earned numerous honors, including Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics' Choice and Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Actress, cementing her reputation as one of the industry's most versatile performers.
Known for blending deeply personal stories with incisive social commentary, Wong has become an influential voice in contemporary comedy.
"I never sought to be famous," Wong told The Cut. "I just wanted to tell jokes for a living. I probably could have been happy being a comic and doing clubs forever."
"Ali Wong Live" will start at 7 p.m. July 30 and 31 at the MACC's Castle Theater. Tickets are $68 to $112 at mauiarts.org.