MOTHER, SUPERIOR
Michael John Ciszewski:
Every gay guy has his diva—Madonna, Janet, Britney, Bey, Gaga—but New York City comedian Michael John Ciszewski’s has always been Sophie, his mother.
She’s a nurse, a mystic, and a loudmouth Jersey girl who loves Bruce Springsteen almost as much as she loves her idiot son. And now, Michael John’s on a mission to
make her immortal.
In this raucous, ritual hour of comedy, Michael John petitions the Vatican to canonize his living mother as a saint.
Part stand-up special, part storytelling séance, part unholy game show, MOTHER, SUPERIOR sees Michael John plead his case before God, the Pope, and a congregation of audience members who cheer him on as he proves Sophie’s sainthood one sacrilegious, sensational story at a time.
Will the Church see the light? Will Sophie make the cut? Does God even take calls from gay guys? From childhood punishments to adult interventions—with a little help from cultural icons like Ashlee Simpson and Arthur the Aardvark—MOTHER, SUPERIOR is a riotous celebration of resilience, the messy, miraculous ways we build our own legacies, and a mother who taught her son to lead with his heart, whether he likes it or not.
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MOTHER, SUPERIOR is performed as traditional stand-up comedy with some heightened solo show elements—with microphone, stand, and stool for water and a single prop (a telephone). Production requires use of a projector and screen, an in-house sound system that communicates with QLab, and a RepPlot that can ideally achieve a full blackout. No specials are needed. Set-up requires staging the microphone and stool, plug-in of company laptop to light/sound boards, a quick A/V test with projector and speaker, and a mic test. We estimate this to take approximately 5-7 minutes, allowing for an ideal 10-minute house open.
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MOTHER, SUPERIOR! is primarily for Zillennials and young adults who love queer comedy with intelligence, bite, and a generous dose of camp.
Ciszewski’s work has been described as “Daniel Sloss meets BoJack Horseman” (EdFringe.com) and “Bo Burnham but much gayer” (Notes on Dan Newsletter); it will appeal to fans of those comedians as well as well as actual queers like Matteo Lane, Julio Torres, Billy Eichner, and Las Culturistas (Matt Rogers/Bowen Yang).
It’s likewise a dream for fans of any pop diva—from Lady Gaga to Ashlee Simpson—and 2000s pop culture. Exploring queer identity, mother-son dynamics, and resilience with absurd, holy-mischievous humor, MOTHER, SUPERIOR! is also for anyone who’s ever been a parent, a child, or witnessed the chaos of that particular relationship—basically, anyone who knows what it means to love someone unconditionally.
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Michael John (he/him) (creator/performer) is a New York City-based comedian and actor named Solo Performer of the Year 2025 (Young-Howze Theatre Awards) whose work specializes in profound gay stupidity.
His debut solo show EVERYONE IS DYING AND SO AM I premiered in 2019, enjoying sold-out performances in Boston and at Manhattan's Theatre Row and United Solo Theatre Festival—
spotlighting the best in international solo performance. It was subsequently nominated for the festival’s audience award. His second solo effort THE SUN IS SLEEPING, a full-length film composed at the start of the pandemic era, screened in virtual events through 2021. His third solo hour LOVEFOOL premiered in 2022 to raves from critics and audiences, who call it “unabashedly queer and bombastically funny” and has since toured stages in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Providence, Provincetown, Jersey City, and beyond. In 2024, LOVEFOOL was nominated for the Staff Choice Award at NYC Fringe.
Heralded as “superbly written and immaculately performed” (EdFringe.com), Ciszewski’s fourth hour of comedy IF MEMORY SERVES debuted in February 2023 to multiple sold-out performances in New York City, Boston, and Fort Lauderdale before enjoying a much lauded month-long run at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe. There, the show was nominated for the Queer Performer’s Award and named #50 on Fringebiscuit’s list of the Top 100 Shows—out of 3,600—at the 2024 festival, based on audience/critical reviews and sales. The show went on to multiple sold-out return engagements in New York City and a sell-out run at the 2024 Philadelphia Fringe Festival.
He performs stand-up comedy regularly throughout New York City at venues like The Stonewall Inn, Brooklyn Comedy Collective, and Bowery Ballroom and hosts TGIF (TESTING GAY IDEAS, FUNNY), a monthly new work residency that regularly sells out The People’s Improv Theatre. Michael is a member of the staff of ArtsEmerson at Emerson College’s Office of the Arts. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and is a proud graduate of Boston University’s B.F.A. Theatre Arts program.