Comedy news

Comedian John Mulaney goes live on 2025 tour with stop in Houston

Comedian John Mulaney will tour in fall 2025.

Photo courtesy of John Mulaney

Comedian John Mulaney will return to the road on a new stand-up comedy tour, John Mulaney: Mister Whatever, which will stop at Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land on November 8.

The announcement of the tour comes in the midst of Mulaney's run on his current Netflix talk show, Everybody's Live with John Mulaney, airing live weekly on Wednesdays through May 28.

The tour will travel to 31 cities across North America, starting on June 27 in Newark, New Jersey and running through at least December 18.

In addition to the Houston date, Mulaney will perform in Grand Prairie (outside of Dallas) on November 7 and Austin on November 9.

This will be Mulaney's first live dates in Texas since his 2022 tour.

Mulaney has grown to become one of the most popular comedians in the United States. After working as a writer for Saturday Night Live from 2008-2013, he starred in his own short-lived sitcom and starred alongside Nick Kroll in Oh, Hello on Broadway.

He also released two Emmy Award-winning comedy specials on Netflix, went back to SNL to host six times, and hosted two different Netflix talk shows.

Tickets for the tour will be available via presales starting on Wednesday, April 23 at 10 am local time. The general on-sale starts on Friday, April 25 at 10 local time at johnmulaney.com.

John Mulaney: Mister Whatever Tour Dates

Fri, June 27, 2025 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center with Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson
Sat, June 28th 2025 – Verona, NY – Turning Stone Resort Casino
Sun, June 29th 2025 – Lenox, MA – Tanglewood Theater
Fri, July 18th 2025 – Hinckley, MN – Grand Casino Hinckley Amphitheater
Sat, July 19th 2025 – Winnipeg, MB – Assiniboine Park – Great Outdoors Festival with Martin Short
Sun, July 20th 2025 – Edmonton, AB – Kinsmen Park – Great Outdoors Festival with Martin Short
Thurs, Aug 7th 2025 – New Haven, CT – Westville Music Bowl with special guests Fred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia, and Nick Kroll
Fri, Aug 8th 2025 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts with special guests Fred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia, and Nick Kroll
Sat, Aug 9th 2025 – Portland, ME – Cross Insurance Arena with special guests Fred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia, and Nick Kroll
Sun, Aug 10th 2025 – Halifax, NS – Halifax Citadel Garrison Grounds – Great Outdoors Festival with special guests Fred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia, and Nick Kroll
Fri, Sep 5th 2025 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
Sat, Sep 6th 2025 – Canandaigua, NY – CMAC
Sat, Sep 13th 2025 – Vancouver, BC – Brockton Oval – Great Outdoors Festival with special guestsFred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia, and Nick Kroll
Thurs, Sep 18th 2025 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
Thurs, Sep 25th 2025 – Boston, MA – Boch Center Wang Theater
Sat, Oct 4th 2025 – Durham, NC – DPAC
Sun, Oct 5th 2025 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Performing Arts Center
Fri, Oct 10th 2025 – Saratoga, CA – The Mountain Winery
Sat, Oct 11th 2025 – Las Vegas, NV – Dolby Live Park Theater
Sun, Oct 12th 2025 – San Diego, CA – Rady Shell
Thurs, Oct 16th 2025 – Detroit, MI- Fox Theatre
Thurs, Oct 23rd 2025 – Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events Center
Fri, Oct 24th 2025 – Cleveland, OH – Playhouse Square – Palace Theatre
Fri, Nov 7th 2025 - Grand Prairie, TX - Texas Trust CU Theatre
Sat, Nov 8th 2025 – Houston, TX – Smart Financial Centre
Thurs, Nov 13th 2025 - Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall
Sat, Nov 22nd 2025 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
Sat, Dec 6th 2025 – Tampa, FL – Straz Center
Sun, Dec 7th 2025 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
Thurs, Dec 11th 2025 – Orlando, FL – Walt Disney Theater
Fri, Dec 12th 2025 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
Thurs, Dec 18th 2025 – Washington, DC – The Anthem

comedy performing-arts

Movie Review

Over-the-top acting and incoherent plot drag down Her Private Hell

Photo courtesy of Neon

Sophie Thatcher in Her Private Hell.

Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn is not someone who plays nice with the general film world. His 2011 film Drive introduced him to American audiences in a big way, but that pulsating thriller was followed up with artier films like Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon that eschewed coherent plots in favor of moody, atmospheric pieces.

Winding Refn, who hasn’t made a feature film in 10 years, has gone fully down the rabbit hole with Her Private Hell. Taking place in a liminal space that kind of resembles Earth but also feels like someone’s dreams/nightmares, the film focuses on Elle (Sophie Thatcher), an actor currently starring in a sci-fi film. Staying at a hotel with newcomer Hunter (Kristine Froseth), the two bond over their shared passion and the legend of Elle’s father, Johnny Thunders (Dougray Scott), who’s now married to Elle’s friend Dominique (Havana Rose Liu).

After spending a good amount of (mostly incomprehensible) time with that group, Refn introduces Private K (Charles Melton), who seems to be living in post-World War II Japan. He is looking for his daughter, who might have been taken by a mysterious figure known as “Leatherman,” and he will stop at nothing to find her, fighting whoever stands in his way.

It becomes clear almost right away that Winding Refn has no desire to engage in traditional storytelling in this film. The main characters wander through neon-drenched streets and buildings, which are often surrounded by a mist that is referred to on multiple occasions but never explained. Everyone speaks as if in a constant state of wonderment, and there are many moments where it’s unclear if events are actually happening, part of a movie-within-a-movie, or something else entirely.

Unlike his previous films, Winding Refn has taken the characters in this film completely out of the real world, with every scene taking place in a sparsely decorated room or street that is obviously a movie set. While there are moments where this decision really works, especially the striking first shot of a human-like figure mixed in with a cityscape and clouds, most of the time it only adds to the stilted nature of the film as a whole.

In fact, the entire movie has the feel of an avant-garde theater exercise. Every actor seems to be trying to outdo the others with awkward performances and out-sized reactions. Two very specific characters make appearances in both sides of the story for seemingly no reason other than to inject their weirdness into both spaces. The shocking violence that crops up on occasion would have more of an impact if it was related to anything intelligible.

Thatcher (Companion) and Liu (Tuner) are among the young stars who have had breakout moments in recent years, but neither of them is served well by this hot mess of a movie. They, along with Melton, still demonstrate the talent they possess, but the oddity of the film weighs them down. Scott makes an impression for all the wrong reasons, while Froseth is called upon to play a character who might as well not be there at all.

If there’s any kind of message that Winding Refn was trying to convey with Her Private Hell, it’s lost among the flashing lights, overload of pink, and jewel-like structures. Filmmakers who try to make art for art’s sake have a place in the world, but this film too often feels like people are making things up as they go, with no real goal in mind.

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Her Private Hell opens in theaters on July 24.

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