It was Friday May 18, otherwise known as Sweet Paprika’s Gay in May show! Yay! Allison Castillo and Ophira Eisenberg host this weekly comedy show at The D-Lounge, a cabaret lounge located in the basement beneath The Daryl Roth Theatre. I wasn’t expecting such a swanky space; I figured it would be more like…well, a basement. It was actually pretty nice. The only problem? I didn’t know there was a 2 drink minimum and I’m cheap so this kind of bummed me out, but the prices aren’t outrageous. $5 beers and $6-8 mixed drinks so it certainly didn’t ruin my evening.

Allison and Ophira have two traditions at their weekly show: get dressed up and get drunk. Honestly, I wasn’t so impressed with them at first; they seemed like they were trying too hard (love me! won’t you please love me!), but I liked them more as the night went on and they settled down. Ophira was the funnier of the pair, but they were both likeable.

The problem with this show was that the performances were uneven. Keith Price and Adam Sank made me laugh, but Anne Neczypor did not. She seemed inexperienced and perhaps a bit uncomfortable. Mike Albo did a sort of spoken word theatrical performance of conversations he’s heard in the city. I thought he was hilarious, but my friend thought he was being too mean. The audience seemed to have mixed reactions to everything.

The highlight of this show? Pepper Mills! She rocked out with her renditions of Burning Down the House and We’ve got Tonight. She brought some much needed energy back in the room and ended the night on a high note.

While it wasn’t the best comedy show I’ve seen in recent weeks, I would definitely give Sweet Paprika another try.