FAQs (FOR in-person shows)

So, nu, you were wondering…?

(Click on the questions in order to read the answers.)

+ Can I sit at at the front table?

Sorry, but all 240 of you cannot.

+ I’m hard of hearing. Will I be able to hear the show? (Can I sit at the front table?)

Half the audience is hard of hearing. Don’t worry, the sound will be perfect everywhere you sit.

+ Can I order food at the Cocktail Show?

No, sorry. The restaurant will have just finished cooking for 240 people at the Dinner Show and will not be taking orders. You will be served Egg Rolls, Pot Stickers, and Dim Sum, but it will just be a light fare, so eat beforehand!

+ Can I bring my 5-year-old?

A: The show is not recommended for kids under 13. But if you feel that it would be appropriate for your 6 or 10 year old, then it’s your call. It’s a comedy show geared toward adults. In 2014, one of the comedians was 14.

+ How about screaming babies?

Sorry, no babies, screaming or well-behaved. A baby’s cry can throw off the performers. And has. No roosters either. Someone brought one some years ago. Seriously. A service rooster, named Vern.

+ Is it true that Lisa Geduldig killed Henny Youngman?

Although she has been accused of doing so for over 25 years, it didn’t exactly happen that way. The Kung Pao 1997 shows were indeed Henny’s last shows ever. He got a cold toward the end of the run, came down with pneumonia, and died two months later. Lisa was exonerated by his family, who said that he went the way he would have liked to have, performing up until the end. AND his grandkids, who were young at the time, got to see Grandpa perform for the first time and got to see him for the last time dignified in a tux doing what he loved best.

+ Can you recommend a Chinese restaurant where we can eat before the Cocktail Show?

You can try Yuet Lee at the corner of Broadway and Stockton.

+ Why is the late show called the Cocktail Show anyway? Don’t cocktails usually take place BEFORE dinner? Is this done just to confuse us?

Yes to all three. (Boy, you sure ask a lot of questions.) Kung Pao started out with one show in 1993. After that sold out, Lisa decided to do 2 shows the following year and for some unknown reason decided to call the 2nd one “The Cocktail Show.” There’s no turning back now.

+ What are the names of the tables at Kung Pao?

We’re so glad you asked! We have named the tables (in ABC order): Alan King, Barbra Streisand, Borscht Belt, Bubbelah, Catskills, Chicken Soup, Chopped Liver, Chutzpah, Fanny Brice, Farklempt, Gefilte Fish, Gilda Radner, Gornisht, Guilt, Hava Nagilah, Henny Youngman, Jackie Mason, Joan Rivers, Kasha Varnishkas, Kvetch, Latkes, Lenny Bruce, Mah Jongg, and Manischewitz

+ Will there be security?

Yes, please leave plenty of time to find parking and get thru security.