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Jerry Seinfeld Helps Margaret Cho: Why The Do-Over Means More Than Just Redemption

By Jonathan Franks
Published on: 11:29 PST, Apr 22, 2016

Jerry Seinfeld and Margaret Cho may have made history together in the world of stand-up comedy thanks to a “do-over” opportunity orchestrated by Seinfeld.

In an attempt to redeem herself for bombing a comedy show in New Jersey last month, Margaret Cho accepted Jerry Seinfeld’s offer to orchestrate a “do-over” opportunity Thursday.

As reported by the New York Times, “bombing is part of the job” for stand-up comedians, a fact that Jerry Seinfeld and Margaret Cho both have learned the hard way over the years. However, what is not as common as bombing is when a stand-up comic gets a solid shot at redemption at the same venue in front of the same audience.

That is exactly what Jerry Seinfeld was able to help Margaret Cho pull off — and he did so in an epic way!

According to the report, an invitation to the “do-over” event was sent to everyone that bought tickets for Margaret Cho’s March 26 show in New Brunswick at the Stress Factory. In an effort to persuade them to basically give Cho her shot at redemption, Jerry Seinfeld wrote a well-crafted message that would likely soften the hardened hearts of even the worst of hecklers.

Jerry Seinfeld started by drawing a sharp contrast between the traditional workplace and the standard “work environment” for stand-up comedians.

“At most workplaces, if there’s a problem on the job, there’s a conversation and usually some sort of outcome. But when a stand-up show doesn’t go well, the audience and the comedian both go home unhappy, sometimes not really sure what went wrong.”

Seinfeld decided to orchestrate a “do-over” opportunity for Margaret Cho after she opened up to him about the March 26 show during a recent interview for Jerry’s popular web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

Jerry referenced his brainstorming session with Margaret in his well-written statement within the “do-over” invitation.

“We started wondering, ‘Wouldn’t it be something if we could go back to New Jersey, back to that club with the same audience and try to make things right? Have a discussion where both sides – comedian and audience – could talk about what happened? And then both of us could do a show – a sort of redo for the audience?'”

Margaret Cho also contributed her own two cents to the proposal, admitting that her original set at the Stress Factory did not go as well as she initially planned. She also stated that getting a chance to essentially redo a set for the same audience would be “the first time anything like this has happened in this industry.” Cho further stated that she was “proud to stand up” for the club.

According to the New York Times, the overall event was set up just as Jerry Seinfeld proposed in the invitation. First, Jerry moderated the discussion between the audience and Margaret Cho. After the moderated discussion, Jerry Seinfeld performed a stand-up set as the opening act for Margaret’s redemptive set.

The club owner even gave free tickets to the patrons that bought tickets to see Margaret the first time around last month. The entire event was taped for Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

Margaret went viral last month with footage of the longtime comedian being booed at the Stress Factory in New Jersey during a set that apparently did not go as well as she initially planned. The footage, which was posted and shared by TMZ, featured Margaret responding to the hecklers and overall negative audience reaction to her jokes as she reportedly ranted about rape, white people, and the tragic death of Garry Shandling.

Perhaps that particular episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee will create a new trend in the world of stand-up comedy. Instead of rushing to complain and rant about poor performances, fans and patrons could possibly look forward to having moderated discussions with the comedians to come to an understanding. At the very least, what Jerry Seinfeld did for Margaret Cho shows the true power of collaboration between colleagues.

[Image Credit: Bobby Bank/Stringer]

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