ENSEMBLE ARTS PHILLY PRESENTS
AN EVENING WITH EMMY® AWARD-WINNING
COMEDY LEGEND, PAULA POUNDSTONE,
JANUARY 17, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (December 8, 2025) – Ensemble Arts Philly presents Emmy® Award-winning comedian and beloved NPR host Paula Poundstone at the Perelman Theater inside the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on January 17, 2026, at 7:30 p.m.
Poundstone is known for her smart, observational humor and spontaneous wit. She regularly plays theaters across the country, hosts the weekly podcast Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone, and is a frequent panelist on NPR’s Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me. She also voiced the character Forgetter Paula in the feature films Inside Out and Inside Out 2.
"Paula Poundstone's spontaneous crowd work and relatable storytelling remind us that there is nothing quite like live comedy,” said Frances Egler, Vice President of Theatrical Programming and Presentations. "Her show joins Ensemble Arts Philly’s dynamic season lineup, presented across 14 venues and four buildings in Center City."
Poundstone has starred in several HBO specials, including Cats, Cops and Stuff, which nabbed a cable ACE award for Best Comedy Special. She was the first female comic to host the White House Correspondents Dinner. She filmed live coverage of the 1992 Democratic and Republican National Conventions and the Presidential Inaugural for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and at the 93rd Emmy Awards. Poundstone has starred in two television series, both entitled The Paula Poundstone Show. Her second book, The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness, was one of eight semi-finalists for the Thurber Prize for American Humor; the audiobook was one of five finalists for the AUDIE award for Audiobook of the Year. Poundstone has released five albums and is featured in several documentaries and compendiums noting influential comedians of our time.
Other featured upcoming performances include Paul Chowdhry: Artificial Indian Tour ’26 (January 20, 2026, Perelman Theater inside the Kimmel Center); Alfredo Rodríguez & Pedrito Martínez (January 22, 2026, Perelman Theater inside the Kimmel Center); James Acaster (January 23, 2026, Miller Theater); Stavros Halkias: The Dreamboat Tour (January 31, 2026, Miller Theater); Step Afrika!: The Evolution Tour (February 7, 2026, Miller Theater); Kurt Elling: Wildflowers (February 27, 2026, Perelman Theater inside the Kimmel Center); Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (February 27–March 1, 2026, Academy of Music); An Evening with Yotam Ottolenghi (March 2, 2026, Miller Theater); Emmet Cohen: Miles and Coltrane at 100 (March 20, 2026, Miller Theater); and Sh!t-faced Shakespeare®: Hamlet (March 20–21, 2026, Perelman Theater inside the Kimmel Center.)
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased online at www.ensembleartsphilly.org, by calling 215-893-1999, or in person at the Academy of Music Box Office (240 S. Broad Street) daily from 10 a.m.–6 p.m. For more information, visit www.ensembleartsphilly.org.
Paula Poundstone
Perelman Theater inside the Kimmel Center
Saturday, January 17, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
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ABOUT ENSEMBLE ARTS PHILLY
For more information about ENSEMBLE ARTS PHILLY, visit www.ensembleartsphilly.org.
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