US comedian Sam Morrison brings his critically acclaimed stand up show ‘Sugar Daddy’ for five dates at London’s Soho Theatre following a sell out run there earlier this year. The dates are Tuesday 24th – Saturday 28th October and follows on from his month-long run at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe.
This Spring he performed an extended off-Broadway run at the Soho Playhouse with the show (hailed as “the best new show in New York right now” by the Daily Beast). This year he also debuted an outstanding set on ‘Late Night With Seth Meyers’.
The show is a celebration of his partner, who sadly lost his life due to Covid. Sam makes his own tragedy funny, despite his pain, giving hope to those in the same situation that light can be made from darkness…
In 2021, Sam began to write about his grief as a coping mechanism – to share Jonathan with others and to make fun of a society that didn’t know how to deal with him as a young widow. A few stories anchor the show and help Sam find meaning and connect to Jonathan in dark, silly, and practical ways.
Last year Sam was mugged. The mugger said, “Give me your phone, I have a gun.” But Sam said, “No. My boyfriend passed away and I have his photos on my phone.” He didn’t care… But Sam held his ground and said no enough times that the assailant gave in, and Sam ran off! …weeks later the wallet was found on the ground and returned to Sam by a Jehovah’s Witness.
If Sam didn’t have enough to deal with, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Despite the trauma of the diagnosis, it snapped him out of my grief by forcing him to take care of himself. Ever since the doctor said the diagnosis was potentially triggered by the grief from losing Jonathan, Sam began to think of Jonathan as the glucose monitor on my arm (hence the name, Sugar Daddy).
These storylines and a few others interweave throughout the nonlinear hour of the exploration of grief and love as Sam shares his experiences in grief groups, quarantining, grief fog, shame, sex drive, spiritual journey, and evolution of grief comedy, all colliding at the end in a frenzied sardonic sermon where he preaches to spread the Jehovah’s Witness gospel, and join in prayer – a call and response Jonathan and Sam developed in quarantine.
Sam Morrison is originally from Sarasota, Florida but currently lives in Greenpoint where he is a staple of the Brooklyn comedy scene and plays ultimate frisbee with his least athletic friends. He is anxious gay diabetic Jew who finds humour in the sad, awkward, and shameful.
As a stand up he performed on the segment Bananamore’s on the Drew Barrymore Show and appeared on Watch What Happens Live. He has performed in some of the most prestigious showcases in the country: The Stand Up NBC Finals, The Tonight Show Showcase, RuPaul’s DragCon. Sam is the host of the long running Queerotica, a monthly all-queer showcase at the famed Strand Bookstore.
As a touring comedian, Sam is a mainstay in the college circuit and headlines across the country including the Stand Up NY as a Breakout Artist to a sold out crowd in 2019. His debut solo show Hello, Daddy! was critically lauded at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Sam was also a staff writer on the first season (64 episodes) of ‘Blind Date’, hosted by Nikki Glaser, currently airing on Bravo. His pilot ‘Daddy’ reached the 2nd round of the Sundance Lab, Screencraft Quarterfinals, Cinequest SemiFinals, and received an 8 on The Blacklist.
