By: Olivia Stewart
Anjelah Johnson-Reyes is an accomplished woman. She is a former NFL cheerleader, actress, and now a stand-up comedian. Her tour “The Family Reunion” is coming to Lubbock on March 20th, at 7 p.m. at the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences. I got a chance to catch up with Anjelah and asked about her story of starting stand-up. Reyes explained that standup was a happy accident for her. When she moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, she attended a stand-up class at her church where she wrote early versions of her notable “nail salon” joke. This joke jump-started her career as a breakout comedian. Reyes also has an accomplished podcast named “Funjelah” where she sits down and interviews guests about how gratitude impacts their lives. Being thankful has played a big part in her mental health journey. Her team helps make this possible and allows her to have these deep, rewarding conversations that result in successful podcast episodes. She’s featured guests such as Nate Bergatze, Tarryn Feldman, and Aaron Weber. When looking at the comedy career field as a whole, it is a very populated and male-dominated business. When Reyes was asked about what motivates her to work hard at her career, she said that she is inspired by so many funny men and women at the top of their game right now. She also loves that comedy allows her to share her personal experiences and have her audiences relate to them. The enjoyment of her humor is apparent through the recognition of having six comedy specials on various streaming platforms as well as multiple past U.S. tours.
Reyes likes to transform her personal experiences from her life into content for her specials and shows. She says her new tour is very much a reflection of that. Right now, Reyes is traveling all over the country. I asked her how she balances her personal life with the demands of being on the road. She replied that it’s definitely a challenge but that she works hard at setting boundaries between the two and is grateful to have a supportive team and family around her. She even said the best part of the tour so far for her is getting to take her young daughter Rosie, who is almost 2, on this adventure with her.
As she set out on tour this year, I was curious to ask her what is next in her career. Although she is still very focused on her tour right now, she is working on her podcast (“Funjelah”) and
posting more frequently on her YouTube channel. She just finished producing her opener, Mal Hall’s, first hour-long special. Reyes has accomplished so much in her time as a comedian.
She’s even visited Lubbock before on previous tours. She said one of her favorite parts of visiting the Hub City is the Texan food and also the audiences. So, if you’re thinking of seeing “The Family Reunion Tour” on March 20th, Reyes wants her audience to know that they are going to have a great time together and that she couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate an hour of comedy than to host a family reunion in each city.
Don’t miss her while she’s in the Hub City, grab your tickets for the performance at BuddyHollyHall.org. For more information on Reyes, check out her website.
