Josh Sharp Sounds Off on Strap-Ons, Steam Rooms, and Venmo Etiquette

You might know Josh Sharp from Dicks: The Musical, the riotous A24 comedy in which he starred with Aaron Jackson, Megan Mulally, and Nathan Lane. Or perhaps you remember him from his work as a correspondent on The Opposition with Jordan Klepper. But if you really want to get to know the 33-year-old comedian, from his upbringing as an amateur magician in the South to a beach accident that nearly took his life, he’s currently spilling his guts in Ta-da!, his new one-man show directed by Tony Award winner Sam Pinkleton, running through August 23rd at the Greenwich House Theater.

Over the course of this 80 minute, 2,000-slide PowerPoint presentation, Sharp moves from a diatribe about umbrellas to the time he got a handjob under a bridge, anchoring the production in his manic, madcap comedic rhythms. Really, you might miss a joke if you blink. So after seeing the show, we asked Sharp to join us for this week’s Rorschach Test, where he sounds off on a wide range of hot-button topics from crowd work and Venmo etiquette to vaping and hydration.

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MILLENNIALS

“Well, these are my people. But I bless all generations—they’re a beautiful stew that each bring their own unique POV to humanity.”

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VAPING INDOORS

“Oh, I’m over that. I hate how much it looks like you’re sucking on a USB pin. It’s one thing when Gen Z does it, but if you’re outside of that generation vaping, indoors or outdoors, get to therapy.“

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STRAP-ONS

“I mean, I’m all for cocks being accessible to all. Whether you want to wear one or take one, no one should be denied access to cock.“

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MATCHA

“I think I’ve only had matcha twice in my life, but my boyfriend loves it. So as a loving act, I will say way to go matcha.“

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ANDREW CUOMO

“Oh, get gone.“

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VENMO REQUESTS

“Anything that brings you to your phone sucks, but I get the utility of Venmo. So it’s like, sure, request me when I owe you money. But why is that the hardest app in the world to find someone? Your best friend who you’ve sent thousands and thousands of dollars to—you pull it up and it’s like, Here’s nine other Amandas you’ve never met in your life. Venmo needs to work on its search function.“

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BISEXUALITY

“We’ve got to give every bit of the alphabet its flowers, and bi people deserve more spotlight than they get. Lesbians are the best, as we all know. Well, trans is number one, then lesbian, then I think gay and bi are beneath that. But we’re duking it out, you know what I mean?“

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WEST VILLAGE GIRLS

“Well, I have not read the article, so I do not know what it means, but I’m pro insofar as my show is running in the West Village and I think there’s nothing more West Village girl than to have a cosmo, see my show, and then have another cosmo. But again, I have not read the article, and will not.“

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HYDRO FLASKS

“Well, I stay drinking water. I love water. Hot take—I love the way water tastes. Especially for us as New Yorkers, mama, we’ve got that top tier deluxe water, you know what I mean? So I think any vessel for your water is slay, but Hydro Flasks really are that girl.“

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TAR HEELS

“Go, Heels go. I did go to the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. And UNC is a great public Ivy, as they call it, so I had a blessed time there, even though I heard from my straight brother that Bill Belichick is about to coach them and he like, dates a little girl now?“

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YES, AND?

“Oh, well, this is the church that raised me. I’m not ashamed to say I came up in the cult that is improv and I have a lot of love for it.“

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GAY SLURS

“Pro: within our alphabet, say what you will.”

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STEAM ROOMS

“I mean, it’s wild that gay men are having sex in there. Conceptually speaking, a sauna is a series of increasingly inhospitable rooms, so to be doing horny behaviors there is wild of the gay male community. But we persevere and we innovate. Also, can we just say how slay it is that water, when it becomes hot, turns into a gas?“

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CHATGPT

“Hate it. I don’t even think it’s fun to use in a cute way. I don’t like any of that.“

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UNPAID INTERNSHIPS

“Technically anti, because I think everyone should be paid for the surplus value of their labor, to quote Marx. But as a comedian who spent many years getting paid in drink tickets, I’m pro volunteerism, and  the idea that you should help people for free. But internships should be paid.“

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CROWD WORK

“The idea that a stand-up can be in the room and talk to you and you can feel the energy that is theater, I love. But the scourge that is crowd work only viewed through your iPhone, that I don’t love.”

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LEAVING A SHOW EARLY

“Oh, there’s really no reason to ever do that. Just sit through the end, you know what I mean? You can even get up and leave and skip the standing ovation, but I would say sit your gorgeous down.“

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