Wonder Dave & Jonah Price: The Couple Championing Queer Comedy in SF

“Are we all fluffed now?” asks MC and comic Binya Koátz

I haven’t been to the SF Eagle in ages. There are two reasons for this, I have long lived in Oakland and I am not the primary demographic for the bar. Those who know, know what I mean. I’m neither a Leather Daddy nor a Bear nor a Top.

Tops, which, as it turns out, were in short supply that night according to the assembled crowd. Which prompted Koátz to hilariously declare that, “Tops not Cops”, were sorely needed.
Instead, I’m a straight, cis, married lady whose personal queerness is only expressed by occasionally going out in a suit and having a fondness for men in tutus. Still, I love the Eagle. No matter your particular letter in the alphabet, it’s a wonderful space to be in.

As I was delightfully reminded on a cold, windy Wednesday when I arrived to interview the Great Gay Dynamic Duo – Jonah Price and Wonder Dave – before the Safe Words Comedy Showcase.

They are a very busy couple. As partners in both amour and show production, they run multiple events with Jonah primarily taking care of design, promotion, and finding sponsors while Dave takes care of the booking and the night of show concerns. He’s also a great comic himself, don’t ya know.

Though very busy, they still had time for me. Not only did they have time for me but I was greeted very warmly by the lovely young man in a chest harness at the door, “You’re the journalist! Hello!” He ushered me in and let me know that there were blankets and pizza available. Did I blush a little bit being called, “The Journalist”? Yes I did. I mean, I wasn’t there to write about war crimes. I was there to write about a comedy show.

Well, wait just a moment. It’s true that I am not on the front lines in Ukraine or Gaza. But there is indeed a war. A war of multiple battles for Queer Rights fought in courts, on school boards, for pending legislation and even on Muni.

“I travel to work at 5am, now that I am female presenting, because I feel safer then on public transit. There aren’t as many people”, says Matthew Beld, co-host of the Strut Queer Open Mic. To be queer, and to be Trans especially, even in the rainbow festooned Bay Area, is too often still to be the target of discrimination and potential violence. But the weapons used in defense are not those of tank lines and battalions. Proud visibility, potent protests, and indeed comedy, are often the preferred arsenal.

“We have committed to creating spaces where queer and other marginalized voices are not just heard but celebrated. We curate lineups that uplift underrepresented communities, use humor to talk about difficult subjects, and most importantly, entertain audiences. At the end of the day one of the greatest things about the shows we produce is that audience members walk away feeling seen. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told by audiences how great it was to see someone like themselves on the stage,” Dave tells me.

Though queer expression is obviously the focus, all underrepresented communities are brought to the stage. “We always angle for diversity, for every show, but particularly with our Affinity Line-Ups”. There was the show of all Trans Women hosted by Koátz. BlackOut with Marcus Williams featured black comics, and the show Donde Esta Mi Gente honored queer latino performers and was hosted by the marvelous Baruch Porras Hernandez.

But what about gender diversity?

There was that terrible article by Christopher Hitchens some years ago declaring that, “Women aren’t Funny”. Despite much evidence to the contrary, the fact remains that there are still fewer female comedians represented in most comedic spaces both small and large. In the straight world that is. Says Wonder Dave, “There are more queer women than queer men who do stand-up comedy. I have a theory, I think many gay men who would do stand-up instead do drag. That’s merely conjecture, I could be wrong. But we do have a lot of great women comics in our shows”.

I had to also ask, of course, about heckling. A determined heckler can throw off a comic’s whole set regardless of marginalization but considering the intention for supportive spaces, how is that handled by the Duo? Dave says, “Queer shows just don’t experience heckling in the same way that straight shows do. Mostly it’s just someone who’s having a wonderful time and being a little too chatty in support. I use my teacher’s voice then, which usually works. But truthfully, the comics themselves are great in handling it. It’s very rare for a host to have to step in”.

Oh heck and bother, sometimes a mere question can provoke the stage gods, making them want to test the point. There was a heckler that night.

“Take his blanket away!”.

The performers, as credited, handled it well but it became such an issue that Jonah did have to – after gently talking him down – help to escort him out. He left of his own accord but intervention was needed. It wasn’t a hetero fellow cursing at the queers. Instead, it was a gay man who was a little too drunk and letting loose with his understandable but slightly disruptive trauma. It was the Wednesday before the Folsom Street Fair after all. He might have been from out of town and maybe not used to wonderful safe spaces featuring great queer comics.

And what great comics they were!

“Strap your crocheted blankets in Bitches, it’s about to get nasty!” so said Edsel Mac. A Bear by designation and a teacher by profession, he told the story about how he shot his, “first queer load”. A story that was slightly abashed. “I can say that here, right?”. Yes, yes you can.

“Can Thaddy be the new non-binary dad name? Or maybe Thussy? Actually, the real one is Pep”, so intoned by Vin Seamen. Natasha Muse mused about the 49’rs with a very different interpretation of that ahem, relevance. There was a great burlesque performance of a ……hamburger!, courtesy of Jota Mercury.

Unusually, but to my delight as he’s normally the host, Wonder Dave was the headliner. In trucker cap and jeans, he told the story of growing up as ‘trailer trash’ in the rural Midwest. As he weaved his story with punchlines good for laughs and phrases deep with pathos, I was reminded of the man I met at a gay bar in Pensacola. He was one of 15 children raised in Alabama. He never Came Out to his family. He couldn’t and so his only recourse was to live somewhere else. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend Pensacola but he found his place there, in an old drag bar with only a purple door to announce that it was a Friendly place.

If I had a teleporter, I would have brought him to sit at my table to share a blanket and perhaps, a cigarette. You could smoke inside that purple bar and you can still smoke on the Eagle patio. Just don’t ash on anyone.

Jonah, hailing from the wilds of Eugene, Oregon, also occasionally performs comedy. His entire set however, is about how he is not a comic, “Which drives Baruch mad”. Do I need to say that Baruch and Wonder Dave were also once a couple? I will – because the honoring amongst them is wonderful. They all, truly and fully, support each other.

But back to the show.

Despite the specific focus, these comics were top-notch for any comedy club coast to coast and in any major port town. Trust me. Not only do I watch a lot of stand-up specials but I was privy, as the bartender, to stand-up nights at the Rite Spot, weekly, for years. I know from what when it comes to good comic work.

The Duo knows it too. “Dave has been on the scene for a very long time. He’s able, through all the people he has known and worked with, to paint with a profound palette, pardon my metaphor, the line-up. He’s able to put together a show that compliments and contrasts great people, almost like a symphony,” Jonah tells me.

They also create shows in non-queer spaces, from Fringe festivals to The Lost Church. Dave also co-hosts the Mental Health Comedy Hour along with Kristee Ono. “The show isn’t explicitly queer, though the two hosts are queer. I do talk about mental health so I intentionally book straight men on that show because they definitely need to talk about that….. therapy and stuff. They need it”. Cue laugh track as Dave is being funny about this while also being very serious.

Primarily however, they like supporting queer bars and spaces. “At Beaux, we are the early show before the dancing starts so we help to get the place filled up. We want these spaces to thrive and we want them to stay”.

Speaking of, Jonah and Dave met on the patio at the SF Eagle.

“After I came back from Chicago and we started dating again. I was looking for a way to scope being a supportive boyfriend. When this show fell into our laps, as a booking possibility, I said, this is a thing I can do. This is a way that I can help. I can help people to get to a place and time in a good way,” Jonah explains. Together, they share a passion for platforming queer voices.

Jonah continues, “As much as we can with an impact that we hope to continue to grow over time and to help to accelerate the careers of queer comedians. Safe Words is about creating safe spaces for both the audience and the performers. I have a tendency to get earnest when we have these kinds of conversations. In the times such as we are in, comedy is a very powerful communication tool. To nurture those voices that are exercising that tool at a time when queer people really need to be heard, is very rewarding”.

And now, utterly necessary. With the results of the recent election, the battles already faced have become even more dire, ones that will need all the voices and all the supporters in the coming days.
It will also require much love.

The Duo’s work is born of love and for the love of it. And let me tell you, heckler included, there was a lot of love that night. I could feel it palpably while nestled in my blanket at a corner table as the stage glowed, hugs were copiously given and many tender conversations ensued. We also got to laugh uproariously and ultimately, with release.

That too, will continue to be very important.

So go see a show!

Safe Words Comedy Showcase ~ every 4th Wednesday ~ SF Eagle

Castro Comedy Cabaret ~ every 2nd Saturday ~ Beaux

The Mental Health Comedy Hour ~ every 2nd Friday ~ All Out Comedy Theater

Hysteria Comedy Open Mic for Women & Queer People (Free Comedy) ~ every 2nd & 5th Wednesdays ~ SF Eagle