Mon mari a très hâte de voir son comédien préféré à New York, où il est en tournée jusqu’à juin.

My husband is very excited to see his favorite comedian  in New York, where he is performing until June.

Gad Elmaleh is a star in French, where he is known not only as one of Europe’s most famous stand-up comics, but also as one of its film stars. But, this year, Elmaleh has decided to take a leap and spend the year performing at Joe’s Pub in New York for the better part of the year…in English! The best part: He’s doing a couple of shows a week and tickets only cost $25 (although, seats have been going fast, so you better reserve a month in advance).

Gad Elmaleh has been getting a lot of attention in New York for these shows and has even been doing the late night circuit, trying to drum up attention for his comedic work in the United States. Of course, to most in Europe, North Africa, and even around the world, Elmaleh needs no introduction. But he hasn’t yet broken into American show business…although he seems to be achieving this goal now.

At the beginning of December, The New York Times published a profile about Elmaleh and his show, which you can read here. The article explains Elmaleh’s love of English and the difficulty of doing stand-up in another language (even one in which you are basically fluent!):

“The comedian (whose name is pronounced Gahd EL-mah-lay) learned the language as a child, along with his native French; he also speaks Arabic and Hebrew. He’s performed in a mix of French and Arabic in Morocco and sprinkled some Hebrew in shows in Israel. His English is fluent, but it’s a significant jump from speaking a language to understanding its nuances well enough to write jokes. (He continues to work with an English teacher.)

Why even try to perform in English? It’s a question he gets so often that it’s now part of his act. “As a joke and as an exaggerated impression of Americans, I say” — here he adopted an American accent — “‘I need to challenge myself,’” he said. “But to be honest with you, it’s true.”

He’s also interested in sharing his unique perspective, that of a “Moroccan, Jewish, French, Francophone, Anglophile, American observer,” as he put it.”

In France, Elmaleh is perhaps best known for his iconic skit: “Where is Brian?” This skit riffs off popular scenes in English textbooks for francophone students (which John goes over in “French Jokes: ‘Where is Brian?'” here). Elmaleh often pokes fun of linguistic differences and misunderstandings, and his strength is in his ability to recognize and observe these cultural phenomena–and then, of course, to make them funny.

Check out Gad Elmaleh’s explanation of French expressions with Marco Werman on Public Radio International below, and, if you’re in the New York region, get ready to book those tickets!