Ten days and more than 200 comedy acts later, the New York Comedy Festival — the largest and longest running annual event of its kind in the United States — has drawn to a close, and boy, is our diaphragm tired. (Ba-dum-bump!)

With A-list stand-up comics, improv groups and podcasters performing every night from Nov. 7 through Nov. 16, it was 10 days of often wheezing laughter. It was also a welcome break from the daily news and the doomscrolling that follows — especially since the performances we saw were largely free of political humor.

Headliners at the 21-year-old festival founded by Caroline Hirsch included Margaret Cho, Louis C.K., Morgan Jay and Alex Edelman, as well as panels on the Peacock hospital sitcom St. Denis Medical, and the unrepentantly absurd 1999-2000 Comedy Central se

See Full Page