‘ADORABLE’ STAND-UP
Orlando Leyba’s new comedy special streaming on HBO Max
Lockdown in Los Angeles has Orlando Leyba thinking of new ways to create content. The pandemic has given him ideas for material, but the comedian likes to keep his material light.
Before the holidays, Leyba spent part of his days going for walks and embracing nature.
“I haven’t done that since before Thanksgiving,” he says. “I’m just not listening to myself. I’m good at ignoring myself.”
The Dominican American comedian uses his observational skills to connect with audiences.
He has performed stand-up on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” twice and recently competed on NBC’s “Bring the Funny.”
His current stand-up special, “Adorable,” is streaming on HBO Max. The audio album was released in November.
Part of the “Adorable” set consists of Leyba joking about HGTV, cat videos, being married for 15 years, and getting guilt-tripped into a visit with less wholesome family in Miami.
Leyba says the special premiered on HBO Latino at first.
“I found a backdoor way to get it to the masses,” he says with a laugh. “Now that it’s been on HBO Max, it’s a broader audience. I wasn’t expecting it. This special has done really well. … It helped open the door to what HBO was doing. There have been more half-hour specials requested.”
Leyba’s journey to headlining his own comedy specials has been a long one.
He started working for CBS as a truck operator. “I was so excited to be in the news business,” he says. “I would go in on my off days to learn more skills on the job. I knew every inch of the building and how to do each job before I left.”
During the pandemic, with touring on hold, Leyba had to make some tough decisions.
He was hesitant to do shows on Zoom at the beginning of the pandemic.
“I started to grow into it,” he says of feeling confident to stream a comedy show. “I’m putting my webcam on my tripod now. It’s like I’m doing a live show. I’m evolving as we speak.”
Leyba can’t wait to get onstage again and has a show planned for March 18 in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.
“There’s nothing like the energy of being in front of a live audience,” he says. “You work at building up the laughter, and then the key moment when the room erupts. That’s the magical moment. You don’t always have them onstage. When you connect with the people in the audience is something that I miss so much.”