✨ SUMMER 2026: MOTHER, SUPERIOR! ✨

MOTHER, SUPERIOR
THE BRAND NEW SOLO HOUR

Does God take calls from gay guys!?

NYC comedian and award-thirsty homosexual Michael John Ciszewski is on the line, desperate to make his mother proud of him. Join him in the ultimate act of diva worship: an attempt to canonize his mother as an immortal saint in one hour – of comedy. Will THAT do? Does the Pope sh*t in the woods!!

Part comedy special, part storytelling séance, part unholy game show, MOTHER, SUPERIOR sees Michael John plead his case before God, the Vatican, and a congregation of audience members—one sacrilegious story and profane pop culture reference at a time.

MOTHER, SUPERIOR is a celebration of the messy ways we build our own legacies and a reclamation of religious ritual that asks the ultimate question: would our parents rather we book a Netflix special, or simply return their calls?

✨ SUPERIOR SUMMER TICKETS ✨

✔️ Sunday, June 21, 2:30pm • Caveat, NYC ✔️

Thank you for an incredible, packed final U.S. preview! We love you!

Friday, July 31, 7:00pm • The Hope Theatre, London
Get London Tickets

August 7-30, 2:00pm • Bedlam Fringe, Edinburgh
Get Edinburgh Tickets

Michael John Ciszewski (he/him) is a New York City-based comedian and actor whose work specializes in profound gay stupidity. 

Recently awarded Solo Performer of the Year (Young-Howze Theatre Awards) and nominated for a Queer Performer’s Award (Edinburgh Fringe), Ciszewski’s comedy is rooted in queerness and healing. His debut solo show Everyone is Dying and So Am I premiered in July 2019 and then enjoyed sold-out performances in Boston and at Manhattan's Theatre Row and United Solo Theatre Festival—spotlighting the best in international solo performance. It was subsequently nominated for the festival’s audience award. His second solo effort The Sun is Sleeping was a full-length film composed at the start of the pandemic era that screened in virtual events from late 2020 into 2021. 

His hit third solo hour Lovefool premiered in 2022 and has since played in venues ranging from proscenium and black box theatres to comedy clubs and festival stages in New York City, Boston, Providence, Provincetown, Jersey City, and Philadelphia. In Summer 2023, it enjoyed an eight-date tour of the Northeast on which it was named a Critic’s Pick by the Provincetown Independent and sold out Brooklyn’s Pete’s Candy Store. 

Ciszewski’s fourth hour of comedy If Memory Serves debuted in February 2023 to a sold-out house in New York City before touring to Fort Lauderdale and Boston. In August 2024, it enjoyed a month-long run in Edinburgh, Scotland, presented by leading UK comedy producer Just the Tonic at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it was named the #50 top show of 3,600. 

His fifth hour, Mother, Superior, premiered in November 2025, and will play at Bedlam Fringe in Edinburgh this August, following preview performances in NYC and London.

Michael John performs stand-up across NYC stages including Stonewall Inn, Rodney’s, Bowery Ballroom, The PIT, and The Green Room 42., and hosts a recurring variety show, TGIF (TESTING GAY IDEAS FUNNY). Recent acting credits include Justin Halle’s VILE ISLE at Lenfest Center for the Arts and BENT at Umbrella Center for the Arts. Training: Boston University (BFA Theatre Arts) and LAMDA (Classical Acting).

Mother, Superior, Lovefool, and If Memory Serves are all available for booking by reaching out to admin@xomichaeljohn.com!

Michael John is a member of the staff of ArtsEmerson at Emerson College’s Office of the Arts, and is a storytelling instructor for The Moth. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and is a proud graduate of Boston University’s B.F.A. Theatre Arts program. Find him at xomichaeljohn.com—or @xomichaeljohn, wherever social media happens.