Comedian Jenny Yang uses a comedy tour to uplift immigrants, one grocery store at a time

Comic Jenny Yang has turned cultural grocery stores into comedy clubs for her summer tour Stand-up comedians are used to tuning out the din of clinking glasses from two-drink minimums and patrons walking in and out during sets. But what about rolling shopping carts or the smell of fried fish?That kind of ambience is what you'll find on comic Jenny Yang's unique nationwide summer comedy tour, where she has been turning cultural grocery stores into comedy clubs for a night.

And she's been leaning into her unconventional venue choice.“I got to buy a bunch of small snacks and shrimp chips and throw it into the audience every time I felt like a joke didn’t land,” Yang said. “I mean this is my dream.”A stand-up and sketch comedy veteran whose acting credits include the Netflix show “The Brothers Sun,” Yang is living a dream of “the most politically and creatively fulfilling project” she's ever done. The Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour is partly her reaction to the immigration crackdowns by President Donald Trump's administration impacting Asian, Latino and Black communities.

She wanted to entertain in cities with immigrant enclaves where she could give back. So, Yang and her team chose grocery store stops and nonprofits to donate to based on recommendations from local organizations.The unorthodox tour has grown from five performances to nearly 20, far beyond her expectations. It started June 5 in Los Angeles, where Yang lives, and has taken her to Minneapolis, Phoenix and other cities.

After stops in New York and San Francisco, the tour will wrap Sept. with Yang filming a performance for a proposed comedy special.She touches on topics ranging from infertility to awareness of immigrant experiences in the U.S. While comedians are divided on whether stand-up should stand down on politics, Yang has always spoken on it.“People come into this art form as a stand-up comedian for different reasons.

I am of the mind that my stand-up comedy is just an extension of my values and I believe in punching up, not down,” Yang said.Being inspired to be a ‘good egg’Last December, Yang, who immigrated from Taiwan, was back there to receive what was a failed round of in vitro fertilization treatment. Heartbroken and sitting in front of an omelet breakfast, she lamented not having “one good egg" to start a family. As she mulled a new endeavor to focus on, her mind drifted toward the “non-stop barrage” of headlines about U.S.