Deaf Comedian Tom Willard's Broadway Comedy Debut
Author: Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2018/12/22 - Updated: 2025/12/06
Publication Type: Event
Category Topic: Recreation - Entertainment - Related Publications
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates
Synopsis: This report documents deaf comedian Tom Willard's performance at Caroline's on Broadway in December 2018, marking a significant milestone in his standup career. Willard, who lost his hearing gradually while growing up, began performing comedy in 2016 and has since performed at over 40 venues across multiple states and Canada. What makes his work particularly valuable is his approach to accessibility - by signing while he performs, he makes his comedy genuinely accessible to both deaf and hearing audiences simultaneously, avoiding the delayed laughter that often accompanies interpreter-mediated performances. Beyond performing, Willard has advocated successfully to add real-time captioning at major comedy festivals, demonstrating how individual artists can push for systemic accessibility improvements. His story is useful for understanding how deaf professionals navigate entertainment fields and for anyone interested in practical accessibility solutions in live performance - Disabled World (DW).
Introduction
Deaf standup comedian Tom Willard made his Broadway debut on December 3 at New York City's Caroline's on Broadway, one of the premier comedy clubs in the country.
Willard, 61, spoke and signed his jokes to an appreciative audience during Carolines' New Talent Showcase, described by the club as where "the country's top up-and-coming comedians shine."
Main Content
Willard, who lost his hearing slowly while growing up, started doing standup comedy in July 2016 as a contestant in the Funniest Person in Rochester contest. Since then, he has performed at more than 40 venues in nearly a dozen cities, including Toronto, Cleveland and Jamestown, N.Y., home of the National Comedy Center. Tom Willard is also an RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) alumnus, having earned a photo degree in 1985 with support services from RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf.
Tom Willard signs while he tells his jokes, making his act accessible to hearing and deaf people alike.
"I performed at a school for the deaf and everyone laughed at the same time," he said. "That rarely happens when there's an interpreter involved, as one group's always a little behind."
He made it to the quarterfinals of this year's Toronto Comedy Brawl and just missed the cut for the Cleveland Comedy Open finals. And, in February 2017, he outlasted 15 other comedians to win the "Who's Got Next?" comedy tournament at Photo City in Rochester.
In addition to performing, Tom Willard advocates to make comedy accessible to people with hearing loss. In August, he was successful at getting two comedy festivals - the Pittsburgh Comedy Festival and the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in Jamestown - to provide real-time captioning at several shows.
Willard said it had been one of his first goals in standup to perform in New York City during the holidays. He was especially pleased to make the trip with his children, Becky, 28, and Kevin, 26. In fact, Willard warmed up for Caroline's by doing an open mic earlier that day at the West Side Comedy Club with Kevin, who started doing standup comedy himself two months ago.
Willard continues to seek out opportunities as he works to build a later-in-life career as a standup comedian. "I don't expect to become the next Jerry Seinfeld," he says, "but plenty of comedians you've never heard of make a good living from comedy, and so that's my goal, to become one of those comedians you've never heard of."
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: Tom Willard's journey reveals something often overlooked in discussions of comedy and performance - that accessibility isn't a limitation but can actually enhance the art form itself. By insisting on signing his material, he's created a more honest performance space where both deaf and hearing audience members experience the comedy in real time, without the artificial delays that typically fragment an audience's shared experience. His success at getting major festivals to add captioning shows that change doesn't require massive institutional shifts; it requires performers who recognize their own power to demand better. For the comedy industry still figuring out how to include disabled artists, Willard's model - grounded in his own needs rather than retrofitted accessibility - offers a blueprint worth studying - Disabled World (DW).
Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.