The Scene: New York alt-comedy has never been stronger, with a scene positively bursting with clowns, queer stand-ups, drag queens, gross-out comediennes, and cabaret singers. That was made clear on Monday night at the premiere of Julio Torres’s latest comedy special, Color Theories by Julio Torres, held at the Museum of Arts and Design’s restaurant Robert. The show debuts on HBO and HBO Max on March 27.
The Occasion: Hot off its three-week run at Performance Space in September 2025, the show is part stand-up routine, part art therapy. Don’t be confused: when Torres says a color, he doesn’t literally mean the color. The show offers up his own elaborate, vibes-based taxonomy of life, the universe, and everything. Audience members sported flashy ensembles in secondary colors: green, the color of a peaceful waterfall and the ill-advised FiDi public art project The Portal, and purple, the color of wicked stepmothers and Barbara Streisand cloning her dog.
The Locale: There’s perhaps no better place than a design museum for the premiere of a comedy special that is all about the affective lives of colors. Robert, the Museum of Arts and Design’s ninth floor restaurant, was bursting with florals. There was also an appearance by Bibo, Torres’s robot mascot who’s made appearances in his projects including Color Theories, Fantasmas, and Problemista.
The Crowd: The cozy Monday evening party was a who’s who of comedy, theater, and art. Technicolor guests included SNL’s Sarah Sherman, visual artist Martine Gutierrez, comedians Jaboukie Young-White, Atsuko Okatsuka and Celeste Yim, Emmy-winning costume designer from RuPaul’s Drag Race Zaldy, actor Larry Owens, playwright Jordan Tannahill, writer Adam Eli, podcast host Matt Bernstein, artist/actor Bobbi Salvör Menuez, comedian and actor Spike Einbinder, artist Garrett Allen, and more.
Food and Drink: Flutes of green, pink, and blue may have drawn a second glance or two—but never fear, it was just Prosecco with a little food coloring. Attendees noshed on an eclectic menu ranging from fish taco bites and gazpacho shots to Mediterranean chickpea stew and marinated olives. And the desserts? They got an entire table to themselves, piled high with tarts, macarons, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
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