Jacqueline Novak’s one woman stand-up show, ‘Get on Your Knees,’ is coming to World Cafe Live

“I actually don’t think oral sex is funny. I just think I’m funny,” comedian Jacqueline Novak said to The Inquirer.

That might seem strange coming from the comic whose one-woman show Get on Your Knees explores that very topic — at length — for well over an hour. Philadelphia audiences can verify Novak’s claim when she comes to World Cafe Live on May 11.

The show, which was described by the Just for Laughs festival as the “most high-brow show about blow jobs you’ll ever see,” is definitely about oral sex. And “It’s definitely stand-up,” she added. “That’s the descriptor I’m most concerned about delivering on.”

But what is it about this particular act that is worth devoting an entire hour and twenty-five minutes to? It’s a topic that she found interesting “from when I first heard about it and had concerns… to later when I wrestled with what it does or can mean,” Novak explained. “I find things interesting and pursue the interest. And other people find it funny, at times.”

Get on Your Knees has been an off-Broadway darling since it premiered at New York City’s Cherry Lane Theatre in 2019. Directed by fellow comedian John Early (of Search Party fame), the show has won over thousands of die-hard fans. Including Grace Maloney, 25, of Manhattan who tells us that she related to the show so much she’s seen it twice. “I had to bring two sets of friends to see it, knowing they had similar lived experiences,” Maloney explained.

Another GOYK superfan, New York’s Scott Interrante, 31, has similarly been drawn to Novak’s attention to detail. “I first saw Jaqueline Novak at a charity benefit concert where she did 10 minutes all about french fries and it was so funny,” he said. “I loved how she could dedicate so much time to a single topic, looking at it from every angle and getting so many jokes out of it. Get on Your Knees is like that on overdrive.”

After years of success off-Broadway and touring, Novak has decided that this latest stretch of shows will be her last.

“I don’t love saying goodbye,” she admits. “Maybe I’ll revive it in a few years, or do it on Christmas Eve for the next ten years,” she said. But there is one definite bright spot to look forward to — a Netflix special, which will be filmed in New York City on June 9.

“[It] depends on how long I spend editing it. I could go into that dark room and never emerge,” Novak joked when asked about a release date. “Hopefully in the next few months.”

For now, she’s looking forward to returning to Philadelphia. “I performed the show before in Philly and the audience was great so I thought I’d return,” she said, “If they’ll have me.”

“Get on Your Knees,” May 11, 7 p.m., World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St., https://www.jokesnovak.com/