This Thursday’s Stand Up NY Comedy Night pop-up might be our biggest and best night of comedy at HudCo yet. Two big reasons: local legends Cyndy Cecil and Jessie Murphy are on the lineup, along with four other comedians coming up from NYC!
By day, Cyndy, a “Georgia peach keepin’ it juicy” in the Big Apple (and Dobbs Ferry), produces television and digital content for companies like Apple TV+, Nat Geo, FX, Hallmark Channel, Consumer Reports, and lots of others. By night, she grabs every mic she can in New York City.
When Jessie isn’t performing and hosting Side Hustle Open Mic nights at Divino in Hastings, she’s momming it up with her two kids, selling real estate in NYC and Westchester with the AZ Team NY and Compass, and finally, “riding horses at Fox Hill Farms in Pleasantville like an idiot.”
We want you to get to know these funny ladies a little bit more before Thursday night, so we dove not-that-deep with them:
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How did you find your way to comedy, and what was your first show like?
Cyndy: My first show sucked big donkey doohickies. I found my way to comedy after giving a talk at a conference where I hoped to move people and make them cry. They laughed their booties off and friends suggested stand up. I did an open mic in a bathrobe at a massive club and it completely bombed. Well, nowhere else but up from there with this compulsion to do stand-up, so I took classes and did a lot of open mics. One time at The Big Hunt (say that 3 times), while I was doing a tight five, a rat scampered across a pipe above my head. I am not performing with rats anymore and instead of a bathrobe on stage, I wear hotpants.
Jessie: Growing up, humor was the glue that held my family together. After my dad died, I made my way to the stage with the skills I had honed entertaining one of the moodiest dudes in the tri-state area for decades. My first set was entirely about synchronized swimming (cough cough) or should I say artistic swimming and I delivered it to about six people in an office space in Bushwick at about 11:30pm on a Sunday.
Who are some of your favorite entertainers?
Jessie: I love Richard Pryor. I love him more than anyone else and I always will. He told the truth and gave us everything he had. I also love Mae Martin. I think they are swell and would like (very much) to have a drink with them.
Cyndy: Ali Wong, Amy Schumer, Molly Shannon, Will Farrell, Steve Martin—they are unapologetic and not afraid to be ugly with a bit. In the words of Steve Martin, “comedy is not pretty.”
Which one of the Golden Girls resonates with you the most and why?
Cyndy: While I love Rose’s comedic timing, I probably most want to be most like Blanche because she is out living life to the max and age means nothing to her. And she’s frisky. #goals
Jessie: I think I’m at 34% Blanche 40% Rose and 26% Dorothy but probably 100% Sophia (not that many people would admit to being 40% Rose but that shows you how well I know myself and how vulnerable I’m willing to be. You’re welcome).
What’s something you would’ve wanted me to ask?
Jessie: ‘Jessie, what’s your favorite drink?’
Regular Coke—not proud but very out.
Cyndy: ‘Why do you live in Dobbs Ferry?’ To figure out where we wanted to live in Westchester, my daughter and I visited ice cream shops in several towns. While getting a scoop at various Sound Towns, I noticed a lot of kids in polos and a vibe of competitiveness. We decided on the River Towns with Dobbs as the top choice because there wasn’t a polo to be found and the ice cream shop had the friendliest people. I don’t have anything against polos… just not in my ice cream shop.