The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack
New York City
March 6-7, 2025
Based on Ben Kassoy’s spectacularly original book of the same name, The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack uses spoken word, dance, and physical theater to reveal the connections between poetry, panic…and pancakes.
Bursting with humor, heart, and defiant wonder in the face of anxiety, this solo show opens a courageous conversation about mental health, masculinity, family, and how all of us can find a path forward after trauma.
Directed by award winner Joanna Simmons, The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack was named the 2024 Exceptional Transformative Solo Performance by LA Hidden Gems and earned a nomination for a NAMBA Splash Award for Excellence in Cultural Performance Arts while selling out theaters and captivating audiences from New York, to LA, to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and beyond.
Reviews
“Mind-blowing. An amazing, beautiful, human story.” — LA Hidden Gems
“Joyous…arresting…beautiful. ⭐⭐⭐⭐+.” — Carolyn Art Media
“Mesmerizing…epic.” — Thinking Theater NYC
“Intimate…affecting…revelatory.” — Stage and Cinema
“Powerful…one of the more unique things you’ll see this year.” — Lothian Life Magazine
Run time: 45 minutes
Content Warning // Discussion and depictions of mental health crisis, mentions of suicide and self-harm.
Read more reviews here, including:
“Simply GORGEOUS! Completely captivating! This show was so unique, heartfelt, genuinely funny, and powerfully real. I laughed and cried. Could easily see this as a Netflix or HBO series. This is a Fringe MUST SEE!” – Rachel Troy, creator of BABY (Hollywood Fringe Top of Fringe Award 2024)
“Ben’s performance is totally captivating from start to finish. The poetry – gorgeous and delightful on its own – is only the first layer. There’s so much EXPRESSION in this show, and I found myself fully mesmerized. It’s a well-crafted piece of theater, beautifully acted, marvelously directed, with excellent original music.” – Mark Vigeant, creator of The Best Man Show (Hollywood Fringe Best Comedy 2024)
About Ben Kassoy
Ben Kassoy (he/him) is an award-winning writer. He is the coauthor of nine books, including the poetry collection The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack (Bottlecap Press, 2023). Ben’s poetry appears in Ghost City Review, JMWW, Defunct Magazine, Pithead Chapel, Cobra Milk, Bodega, Sky Island Journal, Human Parts, and others. He has also written for the websites of Elle, GQ, Teen Vogue, Glamour, Details, Women’s Health, AskMen, Bustle, Elite Daily, Well+Good, Brooklyn Magazine, and others. Read more at www.benkassoy.com.
About The Team
The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack is directed by Joanna Simmons, director of Mark Vigeant’s Make Pleases You, which won the Hollywood Producers’ Encore Award at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival, and Best Man Show (2024 Hollywood Fringe Best Comedy). The show was choreographed by Emory University Professor of Dance Julio Medina and features music from Matt Lipkins of The Shadowboxers, which toured with Justin Timberlake and The Indigo Girls, and have been featured in TIME, Billboard, and many others.
For More Information
Learn more about the book at www.benkassoy.com/books
Follow Ben on Instagram @bkassoy
Read Ben’s Substack newsletter, A Strawberry Spinning Like A Dreidel