Hosted by Firestone, with Champs: DAFT PUN, HOT CROSS PUNS, WHEN WIT HITS THE FAN, LEXI KAHN, TOBY CONTINUED, RHYME & PUNISHMENT & More!
About this EventDOORS 7PM | SHOW 8PM
EARLY BIRD ADMISSION FOR THE FIRST 100 TIX! (Sale ends on Sep 30, 2026!)
“NYC's hilarious cult-favorite pun competition ... both an endearingly homemade and impressively high-caliber show during which astute wordsmiths spin clever and very funny puns to a packed house.” -The New York Times
The PUNDERDOME® is NYC’s Comedy PUN-SLAM Compuntition! Founded by a Rodney Dangerfield impersonator and his alleged daughter (Fred and comedian Jo Firestone), the PUNDERDOME® has been a fixture on New York’s comedy landscape since May 2011. The alleged dad will be hosting tonight!
Show will feature our Main Event - the ALL-STAR TOURNAMENT OF PUN CHAMPIONS, where punsters deliver two-minute pun-stand-up routines, after only two minutes of preparation! PUNDERDOME® Champs and others will pun it out for ’Dome bragging rights and “As Seen on TV”-type prizes!
And, that’s not all...
- We’ll play “Can You Beat THE ’Dome Champ?” where a Challenger takes on Current Punderdome® Champ in a one-on-one 2-minute PUN-OFF. Challenger can opt to get topic 24 hours in advance and use any human and non-human resources (INCLUDING AI) in preparation. ’Dome Champ gets no advance notice AND only learns what topic is when the PUN-OFF begins! WINNER GETS UP TO $100!
- NOTE: At the December 7, 2022 PUNDERDOME, Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Eisen challenged a PUNDERDOME Champ in “Can You Beat THE ’Dome Champ?” and prepared by digesting four-hours of ChatGPT research. He went down in defeat but did survive to write about it on the front page of the WSJ: “”
- Six individuals who sign-up at the bar (doors open at 7:00) will have a chance to punticipate in the .
- There will be PPPPs (Previously Prepared Punderdome® Parodies and Puntifications).
- Pun-masters will be determined by the calibrated “Human Clap-O-Meter” who “accurately and scientifically” assesses levels of audience applause.
***AND, TONIGHT’S HALLOWEEN ’DOME INCLUDES THE 12TH ANNUAL PUN-COSTUME COMPUNTITION!
WARNING FOR THE FAINT OF HEART: the ’Dome is THE spectator sport; it gets loud – decide to attend at your own risk! Hearing protection gear recommended!
Punderdome Reviews:
GQ Magazine shouted the Punderdome® as one of the “5 Funniest Nights in America,” and quoted comedian Chris Gethard on why it’s great: “The crowd. You’d think you were at the Roman Colosseum. They’re passionate, to a level that feels dangerous. And to reiterate, this is a pun competition.”
The New Yorker’s “Battle of Wits: A Report from the Punderdome”: “Can you imagine a more potent cure for the weekday blues? Here was concentrated, unabashed silliness that I longed to bottle and smuggle out in my purse.”
Swing American: “The intellect on display is stunning. Hardly a pun is repeated throughout the entire night. What Punderdome ends up achieving is the transformation of the delivery of the lowly pun to one of the greatest displays of human ingenuity contemporary New York has to offer."
photo credit: Martin Lei
