The Up and Comers
The Up and Comers
The comedy showcase delivers the unmistakable flavor of Catskills comedy, performed by comedians of all generations.
Kailey Strafford
Kailey Strafford is a comic based out of Albany, NY. Blending grief and humor, Kailey is sure to make you laugh about topics you usually would think are off the table! Kailey has featured in clubs up and down the East Coast and Canada.
Alejandro Morales
Alejandro is an Ellenville native and retired Nevele bellhop who oversees the museum’s live comedy events. A former Philadelphia resident, Alejandro has been producing and performing comedy since 2010, including alternative and standup comedy shows for Good Good Comedy Theatre, The Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and ComedySportz Philly. Alejandro’s original food-themed rap battle game show, “Eat Your Beats,” has toured nationally, and his standup comedy has been featured at Helium Comedy Club, Punch Line Philly, Laughing Skull Comedy, Asheville Comedy Festival, West End Comedy Festival, Cape Fear Comedy Festival, North Carolina Comedy Festival, and HBO’s Ha Fest, among others.
Eitan Levine
Eitan Levine is a New York-based writer and comedian/human theme park. His work has been featured on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE, Late Night With Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show, Extra, Access Hollywood, The Kelly Clarkson Show and More. He’s also written for the New York Times, New York Magazine (The Cut), Amazon, Sony, and Reader’s Digest and has worked on creative projects with companies like Nike, Red Bull, JEEP, Audible, Tru TV, and others. He has amassed a following of over 200k followers across his social media channels.
Other credits include writing for the Emmy awarding winning sports segment “5 For Fischler,” being one of 30 finalists in the running to live in the MLB FanCave 2013 and posing for a picture featured in The New York Times while holding a sign that said “PALIN! CALL ME” with his cell phone number underneath. He’s also been featured as a performer at Asheville Comedy Festival, Milwaukee Comedy Fest, Motor City Comedy Fest, Baltimore Comedy Festival, the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, Comedy Mob Fest, New York Comedy Festival, Stand Up NY, Cleveland Comedy Fest (BEST OF FEST AND WINNER OF THE NATE COCKERILL PERFORMANCE AWARD), Cola Con, North Carolina Comedy Festival, Greenwich Village Comedy Club, Carolines, Broadway Comedy Club and others around New York city and across the country. On top of that, Eitan has performed at numerous synagogues, JCCs, cultural centers, colleges and corporate functions.
None of his favorite sports teams have won a championship since 1994.
Calvin Cato
Named one of Time Out New York’s LGBTQ Comics of Color to Watch, Calvin S. Cato has dazzled audiences around the world. His on-air and radio appearances include Oxygen, Netflix, Sirius XM, RISK!, WIRED Magazine, and an unaired pilot for Vice Media called Emergency Black Meeting. His comedy has been featured in numerous festivals and events including San Francisco Sketchfest, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Gotham Storytelling Festival, Brooklyn Pride, and FlameCon. In early 2021, Calvin was published in Kweendom, an anthology of essays by queer comedians and entertainers. In 2022, Calvin concluded a 3 month run hosting a daily talk show on RushTix.com. Be sure to catch Calvin’s latest comedy album Disney Single, releasing in summer 2026.
Jonah Nigh
Jonah Nigh, whom Instinct Magazine exclaimed is "armed with razor-sharp wit, an infectious stage presence, and a fearless approach to storytelling," has appeared in a variety of roles for NBC (“Baking It,” produced by Amy Poehler and hosted by Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg), Peacock, CBS, Don't Tell Comedy, NYC Pride March, among other outlets. He has opened for Robby Hoffman and Natasha Leggero, and he was recently filmed for the comedy series "Behind the Comedian" which will air on Amazon Prime. He was awarded second place in the 2025 US Comedy Contest (Los Angeles) and 2024 Next Best Comic competition (Canada); third place in the 2025 Comedy Mob Festival at Rodney's (NYC); and he was a finalist in the 2025 NY Queer Comedy Festival and 2024 Portland Comedy Film Festival.
Recent highlights have included performances at Laugh Factory Chicago, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Wit Theater (Indianapolis), the Hollywood Improv, Punch Line San Francisco, Mic Drop Comedy (San Diego), Flappers Comedy Club, Minneapolis Institute of Art, City University of New York, Traverse City Comedy Festival, Don't Tell Mama, G&B Comedy (London, headliner), Notoriety (Las Vegas), Philadelphia Comedy Festival (Best of Fest), Asian Comedy Fest, Blue Whale Comedy Festival (Tulsa), Boulder Comedy Festival, Mad House Comedy Club (San Diego), among other venues. He has appeared in commercial campaigns for Chevy, Bose, and other national brands. A former opera singer, Jonah was born in San Francisco and grew up in Minnesota and Washington, D.C.
To kick off standup comedy at the fest, we’ve got a variety pack of emerging comedians who are making waves both locally and nationally.
Featuring comedy from Kayley Strafford, Calvin Cato, Jonah Nigh, and Eitan Levine.
Hosted by Ellenville’s own Alejandro Morales.
The Nevele may have closed its doors, but the spirit of the Catskills is alive and well. Join us for a special showcase hosted by everyone’s favorite retired Nevele bellhop, Alejandro Morales, as he welcomes a new roster of "guests" to the festival stage.Forget the luggage—Alejandro is bringing out the heavy hitters of the modern comedy circuit. These rising stars are carrying the torch of the Borscht Belt's sharp wit and fearless energy into the future. Come see the comedians that everyone will be talking about tomorrow, today!
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The comedy showcase delivers the unmistakable flavor of Catskills comedy, performed by comedians of all generations.
Kailey Strafford
Kailey Strafford is a comic based out of Albany, NY. Blending grief and humor, Kailey is sure to make you laugh about topics you usually would think are off the table! Kailey has featured in clubs up and down the East Coast and Canada.
Alejandro Morales
Alejandro is an Ellenville native and retired Nevele bellhop who oversees the museum’s live comedy events. A former Philadelphia resident, Alejandro has been producing and performing comedy since 2010, including alternative and standup comedy shows for Good Good Comedy Theatre, The Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and ComedySportz Philly. Alejandro’s original food-themed rap battle game show, “Eat Your Beats,” has toured nationally, and his standup comedy has been featured at Helium Comedy Club, Punch Line Philly, Laughing Skull Comedy, Asheville Comedy Festival, West End Comedy Festival, Cape Fear Comedy Festival, North Carolina Comedy Festival, and HBO’s Ha Fest, among others.
Eitan Levine
Eitan Levine is a New York-based writer and comedian/human theme park. His work has been featured on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE, Late Night With Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show, Extra, Access Hollywood, The Kelly Clarkson Show and More. He’s also written for the New York Times, New York Magazine (The Cut), Amazon, Sony, and Reader’s Digest and has worked on creative projects with companies like Nike, Red Bull, JEEP, Audible, Tru TV, and others. He has amassed a following of over 200k followers across his social media channels.
Other credits include writing for the Emmy awarding winning sports segment “5 For Fischler,” being one of 30 finalists in the running to live in the MLB FanCave 2013 and posing for a picture featured in The New York Times while holding a sign that said “PALIN! CALL ME” with his cell phone number underneath. He’s also been featured as a performer at Asheville Comedy Festival, Milwaukee Comedy Fest, Motor City Comedy Fest, Baltimore Comedy Festival, the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, Comedy Mob Fest, New York Comedy Festival, Stand Up NY, Cleveland Comedy Fest (BEST OF FEST AND WINNER OF THE NATE COCKERILL PERFORMANCE AWARD), Cola Con, North Carolina Comedy Festival, Greenwich Village Comedy Club, Carolines, Broadway Comedy Club and others around New York city and across the country. On top of that, Eitan has performed at numerous synagogues, JCCs, cultural centers, colleges and corporate functions.
None of his favorite sports teams have won a championship since 1994.
Calvin Cato
Named one of Time Out New York’s LGBTQ Comics of Color to Watch, Calvin S. Cato has dazzled audiences around the world. His on-air and radio appearances include Oxygen, Netflix, Sirius XM, RISK!, WIRED Magazine, and an unaired pilot for Vice Media called Emergency Black Meeting. His comedy has been featured in numerous festivals and events including San Francisco Sketchfest, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Gotham Storytelling Festival, Brooklyn Pride, and FlameCon. In early 2021, Calvin was published in Kweendom, an anthology of essays by queer comedians and entertainers. In 2022, Calvin concluded a 3 month run hosting a daily talk show on RushTix.com. Be sure to catch Calvin’s latest comedy album Disney Single, releasing in summer 2026.
Jonah Nigh
Jonah Nigh, whom Instinct Magazine exclaimed is "armed with razor-sharp wit, an infectious stage presence, and a fearless approach to storytelling," has appeared in a variety of roles for NBC (“Baking It,” produced by Amy Poehler and hosted by Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg), Peacock, CBS, Don't Tell Comedy, NYC Pride March, among other outlets. He has opened for Robby Hoffman and Natasha Leggero, and he was recently filmed for the comedy series "Behind the Comedian" which will air on Amazon Prime. He was awarded second place in the 2025 US Comedy Contest (Los Angeles) and 2024 Next Best Comic competition (Canada); third place in the 2025 Comedy Mob Festival at Rodney's (NYC); and he was a finalist in the 2025 NY Queer Comedy Festival and 2024 Portland Comedy Film Festival.
Recent highlights have included performances at Laugh Factory Chicago, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Wit Theater (Indianapolis), the Hollywood Improv, Punch Line San Francisco, Mic Drop Comedy (San Diego), Flappers Comedy Club, Minneapolis Institute of Art, City University of New York, Traverse City Comedy Festival, Don't Tell Mama, G&B Comedy (London, headliner), Notoriety (Las Vegas), Philadelphia Comedy Festival (Best of Fest), Asian Comedy Fest, Blue Whale Comedy Festival (Tulsa), Boulder Comedy Festival, Mad House Comedy Club (San Diego), among other venues. He has appeared in commercial campaigns for Chevy, Bose, and other national brands. A former opera singer, Jonah was born in San Francisco and grew up in Minnesota and Washington, D.C.