How to Watch 'Laughter in Lockdown' Comedy Benefit With Ray Romano, Wanda Sykes and More

On Friday, NY Laughs will hold a virtual benefit for the Actor's Fund with some of the biggest names in comedy, including Judd Apatow, Wanda Sykes and more.

Dubbed "Laughter in Lockdown," the benefit will begin streaming at 8 p.m. EST (5 p.m. PST) on the NY Laughs website and the organization's YouTube channel as well.

The money raised by the benefit will go to support professionals in the comedy world who have been left vulnerable due to the COVID-19 pandemic. People looking to donate can do so by donating to the Actor's Fund.

The lineup for the pre-recorded event boasts an impressive list of comedians from all over the country, including Dave Attell, Jeff Ross, Roy Wood Jr., Ray Romano, Jim Norton, Ronny Chieng and more.

NY Laughs founder Suzette Simon told Newsweek the show was born out of concern for when and how comedy can return after the coronavirus pandemic. "We saw so many of our compatriots just completely devastated, and we don't know when that industry ever's gonna come back again. So it's hard to tell, even though you're doing social distancing and they're talking about doing things outdoors, it's like how much of [that] can a comedy club actually do?" Simon told Newsweek. "Everybody has something within them that they can do to give back, and this is the one thing I can do."

"It was just sort of a call to action. What can I do? The same thing with NY Laughs—that's why I formed it. What can I do in this world to make it a better place? So, that's the overall arching theme: Anybody can do anything, whether it's just saying, 'Hello' to somebody and being nice, to being able to mobilize people and get them involved in some sort of creative force that changes the world," Simon continued.

Despite some of the comedians' having raunchier material, Simon said that the show isn't as no-holds-barred as a club set. But it is an honest discussion among comics about what their lives are like during the pandemic. "I think It's a very poignant thing—the conversations—because a lot of the comics are talking about what their lives are like now and the state of comedy, and I just think it's so real," Simon said. "I would say [it's] PG-13, but please don't think that you're going into a club and it's blue and they're talking about all sorts of things. It's not that. It's just a very real conversation about where people are at right now."

While the whole show is sure to be exciting, Simon said that Jeff Ross and Dave Attell's conversation about the state of comedy is a very strong part of the show. "I really love Jeff Ross and Dave Attell, because you think it would be sort of a blue thing, but it's not. It's just so poignant. It's the elder statesmen of comedy sitting back and a little bit of reminiscing," she said. "It's warming and touching. You see these men at the pinnacle of their careers, and they're worried about other people and worried about the state of comedy."

NY Laughs, which is most known for putting on comedy shows in public places for free, said that it would try to hold an event after the summer. "After 'Laughter in Lockdown,' we'll be focused on adding videos to our NY Laugh's YouTube channel and possibly 1 indoor show this Fall/Winter in Brooklyn," board director Thelma Gregory wrote on the organization's website. "It's a matter of getting the #SquirrelsOfComedy organized and I think we all know free help is hard to manage. We're monitoring the NY dashboard daily to see when we can get back into public spaces - phase 4."

The show will be available on the NY Laughs YouTube channel after the event premieres on Friday.