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MICHAEL JOHN CISZEWSKI: MOTHER, SUPERIOR 🙏
Every gay guy has his diva—Madonna, Janet, Britney, Bey, Gaga—but New York City comedian Michael John Ciszewski’s has always been Sophie, his mother.
She’s a nurse, a mystic, and a loudmouth Jersey girl who loves Bruce Springsteen almost as much as she loves her idiot son. And now, Michael John’s on a mission to
make her immortal.
In this raucous, ritual hour of comedy, Michael John petitions the Vatican to canonize his living mother as a saint. Part stand-up special, part storytelling séance, part unholy game show, MOTHER, SUPERIOR! sees Michael John plead his case before God, the Pope, and a congregation of audience members who cheer him on as he proves Sophie’s sainthood one sacreligious, sensational story at a time.
Will the Church see the light? Will Sophie make the cut? Does God even take calls from gay guys? From childhood punishments to adult interventions—with a little help from cultural icons like Ashlee Simpson and Arthur the Aardvark—MOTHER, SUPERIOR! is a riotous celebration of resilience, the messy, miraculous ways we build our own legacies, and a mother who taught her son to lead with his heart, whether he likes it or not.
Named Solo Performer of the Year 2025 (Young-Howze Theatre Awards), Ciszewski has been heralded as “a whip smart comic [who] holds the room like putty” (BingeFringe) and who “celebrates love the way Julia Child celebrated French cooking” (Monumental Entertainment). He has earned accolades including a Queer Performer’s Award Nomination at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe—where his show IF MEMORY SERVES was named the #50 Top Show out of 3600!—and raves from critics and audiences both gay and otherwise.
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.
He performs stand-up across NYC stages including Stonewall Inn, Rodney’s, Bowery Ballroom, and The PIT, where he is currently in residency with his bimonthly 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).
Both Lovefool and If Memory Serves are available for booking now by reaching out to xomichaeljohn@gmail.com!
Michael is a member of the staff of ArtsEmerson at Emerson College’s Office of the Arts. 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.
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