Stamford comics come home bearing jokes Native sons give up day jobs and dive into stand-up comedy

STAMFORD -- A securities trader and a consultant walk into a bar.

Raj Mahal and Ben Rosenfeld, two Stamford natives now living in New York, are headlining a stand-up show Friday at Quattro Pazzi Restaurant on Bedford Street.

"I've been wanting to do one for a while," said Rosenfeld. "For some reason Stamford doesn't have much live comedy. It'll have a show pop up here or there but not very often."

Mahal -- whose real name is Raj Malhotra -- dug into standup three years ago when he left his job at Nomura Securities.

"There was a lot of hidden comedy there, so I decided to bring that to the stage," said Mahal. "I think that you get into this idea that business and Wall Street and everything there's so serious. At the end of the day, it's just a job. If you're spending 10, 12 hours a day at work and there's no humor, there's no downtime, then it should be miserable."

Rosenfeld started a little before Mahal, leaving behind a career in management consulting and a doctorate program in neuroeconomics. He had written some jokes for a friend, Jay Schultz, who did standup as well but has since moved on to musical comedy. Schultz suggested Rosenfeld tell the jokes himself. Now Rosenfeld is telling jokes for a living, sometimes three or four shows a night.

Both men live in New York, Rosenfeld in Astoria and Mahal in the West Village.

Rosenfeld suggested that the dearth of stand-up in Fairfield County is related to the glut in nearby New York.

"New Haven has Jokers Wild, Hartford has City Steam (Brewery). I know Butterfield 8 was doing a show for a little bit, but it was once a week, and I don't know what happened," said Rosenfeld. "It's weird that Stamford doesn't have any live comedy."

Butterfield 8 has since become Brother Jimmy's BBQ.

More Information If you go: Stamford natives Raj Mahal and Ben Rosenfeld will appear Friday, May 15, at 9 p.m. on the second floor of Quattro Pazzi restaurant at 269 Bedford St. Tickets and information: stamfordcomedyclub.com You can see videos of previous performances on their websites: therajmahal.com and bigbencomedy.com



"In general, comedy clubs, they don't have any business 20 hours in a day, so it's kind of a waste in rent if you just do comedy," said Rosenfeld.

The show begins at 9 p.m. Friday, May 15, on the second floor of Quatro Pazzi at 269 Bedford St. Tickets and more information are available at stamfordcomedyclub.com.

Jessica Brodkin will emcee and Matt Malone -- a former Advocate reporter -- will open for Rosenfeld and Mahal.

You can check out Rosenfeld's material at bigbencomedy.com and Mahal's at therajmahal.com.

alex.gecan@scni.com; 203-964-2263; @stunati0201; stamfordadvocate.com; blog.ctnews.com/Stamford411