When critically acclaimed stand-up comedian Gianmarco Soresi introduces himself to a new audience, he explains that his father is Italian, his mother is Jewish, and that he identifies as a “cultural Jew.”
That, he says, “means I have all the gastrointestinal problems and stress and anxiety of regular Judaism — without the sweet comfort of God.”
The line always gets a big laugh, and draws on a nuanced relationship with Judaism that he mines for laughs and which he elaborated on in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, discussing his family, his formerly Orthodox girlfriend, antisemitism and his disillusionment with Israel.
The 37-year-old Soresi has seen his online popularity explode in recent years, as he joins a generation of comics finding audiences outside the comedy clubs. After amassing more than one million followers on TikTok, another million on YouTube, and 800,000 on Instagram, Soresi will debut his first full-length special, “Thief of Joy,” on his YouTube channel on Sept. 19.
The special displays Soresi’s strong writing and storytelling skills and cleverly crafted punchlines: Variety, naming him one of “10 comics to watch out for in 2025,” described “his knack for filtering life through a dark prism.” (Deadline also named him to its “Future of Funny” list for 2025.)
Soresi’s fast rise, however, has largely been fueled by his popular crowd work videos, which feature lightning-fast improvisation with audience members, as well as what the New York Times described in 2023 as his “silkily feline physicality and frenetic gesticulation.”
In a typical piece of crowd work, an audience member pipes up during a bit about people who are polyamorous. “I know you have a girlfriend, but you’re on the road all the time,” they ask. “Are you in an open relationship?” Soresi’s response: “Are you kidding? My girlfriend grew up Hasidic. I’m just lucky that she lets me mix meat and dairy products!”
In a recent interview, Soresi shared more details about his Jewish background and experience. Raised in Potomac, Maryland, Soresi said his parents divorced before he was a year old.
“My mom’s maiden name was Rothkrug, and she grew up in Great Neck, on Long Island. When she was 12 her parents told her she could either have a bat mitzvah or a Sweet 16 — and she decided to wait for the latter,” he said. There was no religious influence from his father, who Soresi describes as a “lapsed Catholic.”
Soresi himself did not have a bar mitzvah, but “I wouldn’t necessarily call my upbringing secular,” he said. “We did go to temple twice a year, we did Hanukkah, and we also did Passover — which was my favorite because it made the Jews seem cool.”
In addition, Soresi, a passionate “theater kid” who would earn a degree in musical theater from the University of Miami, got to perform during seders. “I really liked reading at the table,” he said.
While his mother married twice and his father was married and divorced three times, Soresi has been in a committed relationship for more than five years with Tovah Silbermann, who was raised in New Orleans in a Chabad community. After attending Yeshiva University, “she wanted to leave what I would call the strictness of that life and just gradually pivoted away, although her family remained Orthodox,” he said.
Soresi recalls an awkward moment when Tovah’s younger sister attended one of his shows, and he breached a rule of Orthodox etiquette. “Given my Italian side, I’m a hugger,” he recalled. “So I wrapped my arms around her and multiple people said, ‘no, no!’ It’s a horrible feeling to hug someone and have people shout ‘no!’”
Silbermann — a talent manager who is listed on Soresi’s new special as executive producer, manager and muse — remains connected to her family and Judaism. “Unfortunately, I’m not in town a lot on Friday nights, which is sad for her, because she wants to do Shabbat dinner,” said Soresi. Shabbat dinner, he has said, “is like a standing date for Jews to get together every week.”
Silbermann declined to comment, but in a recent episode of Soresi’s popular podcast, “The Downside,” she offered a fairly lengthy primer on the kosher laws, the distinction between the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud and the laws of conversion. In the same conversation she acknowledged that in the beginning of their relationship she found herself missing the Jewish rituals and customs she shared with old friends.
“That was a struggle for me,” said Silbermann. “It’s like, how do you integrate two lives?” In time, she added, she’s gotten accustomed to the choices she made, and said, “This is my thing.”
Soresi sprinkles references to their varied Jewish backgrounds throughout his appearances. “Tovah and I once got stuck in terrible traffic in Miami, and she yelled ‘Let my people go!’” He also picks up on antisemitism, intentional or not. During crowd work at a New Hampshire show earlier this year, he was speaking with a woman named Carol about whether she was raising her daughter to be religious. “Well, I did bring her to church,” Carol said. “But not Catholic; that’s worse than Jewish.” Soresi flinched theatrically, and the audience gasped before howling with laughter. “OK, let’s rank all the religions,” was his comeback. “What kind of Christian are you? Nazi?!”
When he was 24, Soresi went on Birthright, the free trip to Israel offered to young Jewish adults. “It wasn’t a particularly political trip, and I wasn’t necessarily paying the closest attention. But I had exposure to a lot of Jewish people that I hadn’t interacted with in my own life,” he recalled. “And the soldiers who joined us for a couple of days seemed to be on the left side politically, talking about how they believed in a two-state solution.”
These days, Soresi is an outspoken critic of Israel and its actions in Gaza, as well as its policies toward Palestinians in general. He’s incensed with American Jews who equate such criticism with antisemitism, and he often receives vicious comments online.
“Jewish people have written me the most angry emails of late, like, ‘you’re just pretending to be Jewish.’”
While many liberal Jews have been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extreme right-wing coalition, Soresi goes further by declaring he’s not a Zionist.
In a July appearance at Montreal’s “Just For Laughs” comedy festival, Soresi told the crowd he might be in favor of a three-state solution: one for Zionist Israeli Jews, one for Palestinians and one for secular, cultural Jews like himself.
When a reporter reminded him of that, he said, “Let me be clear. That wasn’t exactly a real policy proposal!” As to whether he considers himself anti-Zionist (opposing a nation-state that privileges Jewish citizens) or non-Zionist (supporting a Jewish homeland for others but not necessarily a nation-state), Soresi said he would prefer not to “quibble.”
“I would say I’m extremely anti what is being done to the Palestinian people in this moment,” he said.
As always, though, Soresi manages to create comedy from calamity. “I have an Israeli barber,” he recently said onstage, “and while he was cutting my beard, he asked me my thoughts about Israel and Palestine. And I noticed that the closer the blade got to my throat, the more I was getting pro-Israel.”
Soresi’s career has clearly hit a sweet spot. In addition to the YouTube special, his live shows, podcast and periodic acting roles, his recent international tour was a sold-out success.
Soresi and Silbermann have just moved from Manhattan’s Lower East Side to Brooklyn. After five years together, might there be an announcement involving a chuppah and a broken glass?
“Um, did my girlfriend put you up to this?” he said, laughing. “I love her very much and we have an incredible life.”
Gianmarco Soresi’s special “Thief of Joy” debuts Sept. 19 on his YouTube channel.
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