Janelle Draper
Thursday, July 9, 2026
7:30 PM
New York Comedy Club - Midtown
241 E 24th St, New York, NY 10010
Scheduled
About This Event
Bicoastal comedian Janelle Draper, described as unapologetic, uncensored and unladylike, performs at the New York Comedy Club - Midtown; she began doing stand-up in Los Angeles while working as an NBC page on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The lineup also features Jay Leno, the television host and stand-up comic who succeeded Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and later hosted Jay Leno's Garage.
About The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Tina Hager
A long-running chapter of American late-night television, *The Tonight Show with Jay Leno* shaped the rhythms of network comedy from the early 1990s through 2014, bridging the era after Johnny Carson and the later handoff to a new generation of hosts. Its format—monologue, desk bits, celebrity interviews, and stand-up—helped standardize what audiences expected at 11:35. In New York, its legacy is felt less as a local institution than as a national broadcast that fed the city’s club circuit with writers, performers, and touring acts. The show’s durability is also its critique: it codified a mainstream template that comedy still measures itself against.
About the Artists
Janelle Draper
JANELLE DRAPER IS A BICOASTAL COMEDIAN, ACTRESS, WRITER AND PRODUCER. SHE’S BEEN DESCRIBED AS UNAPOLOGETIC, UNCENSORED AND UNLADYLIKE. SHE STARTED DOING STAND-UP IN LA WHEN SHE WAS AN NBC PAGE WORKING ON “THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO.”
Jay Leno
Jay Leno is an American comedian, television host, and writer whose career grew out of years on the stand-up circuit before he became a defining late-night presence on NBC. He is best known for his long runs as host of *The Tonight Show*, later returning to television with projects including *Jay Leno’s Garage* and a revival of *You Bet Your Life*.