W. Kamau Bell Returns to Berkeley Rep With ‘Who’s With Me?’
Emmy and Peabody star brings laugh-packed run June 17–22 benefiting Bay Area arts partners
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W. Kamau Bell, the Emmy and Peabody Award–winning stand-up comic and CNN host, is heading back to Berkeley Repertory Theatre June 17–22 for encore performances of his acclaimed show Who’s With Me?. In a season marked by political tension and arts funding uncertainty, Bell uses his signature humor and unflinching curiosity to guide audiences through today’s most pressing issues. As he shared on Instagram, “He’s pretty sure the only way we will make it through all of this is if we face it together. So, Bell wants to know: Who’s With Me?”
Performance Details
Who’s With Me? premiered earlier this spring to sold-out audiences, earning praise for its mix of stand-up, audience interaction, and documentary-style storytelling. Bell tackles topics ranging from community resilience to social media echo chambers, weaving in anecdotes from his own life in Oakland. Shows run June 17–22 on Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage, an intimate space that seats around 400 patrons and amplifies Bell’s conversational delivery.
Tickets are already on sale at berkeleyrep.org, with standard seating available and VIP packages offering a post-show meet-and-greet plus signed merchandise. VIP upgrades are limited and include a photo opportunity and Q&A session—ideal for fans who want to dig deeper into the material. Berkeley Rep artistic director Johanna Pfaelzer noted in a statement that Bell’s blend of comedy and civic engagement “resonates deeply with our mission to connect artists and audiences around the stories that shape our communities.”
Supporting Bay Area Arts
This engagement doubles as a fundraiser for 13 Bay Area arts nonprofits affected by proposed budget cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts. Bell has pledged ticket proceeds to help cover operating costs for theater companies, dance troupes, youth arts programs, and cultural centers.
The beneficiary list includes:
• Actors’ Ensemble of San Francisco
• Crowded Fire Theater Company
• Dance Mission Theater
• Fairytale Town (formerly Fairyland), Berkeley
• Magick Theatre, San Francisco
• Marin Shakespeare Company
• NCTC (North Coast)
• Oakland Theater Project
• SF Youth Theatre
• Theatre Bay Area
• TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
…and a handful of other community-driven arts institutions.
Federal budget proposals this year called for steep cuts to the NEA, threatening grants that these groups rely on to mount new productions and maintain outreach programs. Bell’s initiative is designed to fill part of the gap and spotlight local artists whose work often goes unseen. In his social media post, he tagged each organization’s handle, writing that “these organizations are the lifeblood of our community. They need us now more than ever.”
About W. Kamau Bell
A Berkeley native raised in Oakland, Walter Kamau Bell graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a degree in film and digital media. He made his name co-hosting the podcast Politically Re-Active before launching CNN’s United Shades of America in 2016. That series, which finds Bell exploring diverse American communities from Birmingham to Brooklyn, earned both Peabody and Emmy Awards for its empathetic storytelling.
Bell also teamed up with MSNBC host Chris Hayes on the podcast Why Is This Happening? and authored essays on race and politics in The New York Times Magazine. Known for blending humor with rigorous research, he has performed at festivals including Just for Laughs, Edinburgh Fringe, and the Halifax Comedy Festival.
Beyond the stage, Bell is active in Bay Area cultural life. On May 31, he served as moderator at the Oakland Museum of California’s annual Party of the Year, leading a panel with filmmaker Adrian L. Burrell, Black Cultural Zone CEO Carolyn Johnson, and author Leila Mottley. The event raised funds for OMCA’s education programs, drawing hundreds to celebrate under a canopy of garden lights while discussing how art can stand up to power.
Offstage, Bell leverages his platform to address online harassment, higher education funding, and civil rights. In recent Instagram posts, he’s called out trolling behavior and urged platforms to protect users—demonstrating the same combination of laughter and activism that fuels his live shows.
Whether you’re drawn by Bell’s incisive comedy or his deep commitment to social issues, Who’s With Me? offers both a good laugh and an opportunity to invest in the arts ecosystem. Don’t miss your chance to see Bell live at Berkeley Rep June 17–22 and play a part in sustaining Bay Area creativity. In Bell’s words, “it’s only if we face it together that we make it through—so who’s with me?”
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