by ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ismael Loutfi’s story is not the typical saga of the child of immigrants who becomes an American stand-up comedian and TV writer.
Sure, Loutfi has grown into both of those professions. But few can talk about having a father moving to Connecticut from Syria in the late 1970s, having a successful career as a hospital surgeon, only to blow it all up (so to speak) and having to move the family to central Florida, where his father would become more infamous legally, as well as practically — thanks to decorating the entire exterior of his car with Islamic messaging. So Ismael enjoyed (or didn’t enjoy) a completely different childhood from his older siblings. “I didn’t have any friends. I didn’t even have bullies!”
And young Ismael’s sincere belief in Islam (perhaps his father’s most faithful disciple) tells us how his public school years found him ostracized, somehow married at 17, and then pursuing stand-up comedy a year later.
There’s a running subplot involving Al Franken, but that elder comedian and former U.S. Senator doesn’t turn out to be this Ismael’s white whale. Instead, Loutfi finds his journey to be one of self-discovery, tormenting himself over what it means to be a good, funny comedian without demeaning either himself or his religion, and how he felt like a fraud expressing himself in the half-truths of comedy, compared to his dad’s sincere expressions scribbled and scrawled all over his car. Even if his heavenly baba’s expressions, much like stand-up comedy, turns out to be brilliant, stupid, and disgusting.
Ismael Loutfi: Heavenly Baba plays at Assembly Studio Five through Aug. 24, 2025.
