One-Woman Show: Hannah Lieberman ’18 Gets Whirlwind Start in the NYC Comedy Scene
November 6, 2025
- Author
- Caroline Roy '20
Hannah Lieberman ’18 performs onstage at QED
For her senior thesis at Davidson College, Hannah Lieberman ’18 wrote, directed and performed Hysterical, a one-woman comedy musical exploring topics of relationships, identity and her family’s history of inherited ovarian cancer.
That was one of her first ventures into comedy performance. Fast forward to today, after a few whirlwind years of building connections and learning the ins and outs of New York City’s comedy scene, Lieberman owns and manages her own venue, QED Astoria. Between running a business for the first time, hosting a diverse range of performers and writing projects of her own, this is her biggest one-woman show yet.
Finding her Dream Role
Lieberman first moved to New York for a graduate degree in acting, swapping her busy Davidson routine of club meetings, long rehearsals and improv practice for an equally busy routine balancing school and six part-time jobs, including babysitting and guiding ghost tours.
“The momentum I found at Davidson has stuck with me,” she said. “Both then and now, I’m exposed to so many different kinds of art and theatre. There are so many ways to tell a story.”
Her hustling brought her to QED, a small arts venue in Astoria, Queens, New York, and, for at least the last decade, the only woman-owned and operated venue in the area. Then-owner Kambri Crews organized community events — from improv workshops to open mic nights to children’s theatre — every day of the week. With her enthusiasm and ability to captivate an audience, Lieberman quickly became a regular performer at the venue.
Last year, Lieberman officially purchased QED from Kambri Crews.
“QED was the first venue to make me one of their in-house comics,” she said. “When I wasn’t performing or producing shows, I was learning how things worked behind the scenes. There’s a lot of creativity involved in the marketing, organization and details required to keep this place running.”
Last year, Crews moved on after more than a decade of owning and operating the venue. Lieberman, encouraged by her family and fiancé, saw the opportunity she’d been waiting for. She offered to buy QED and continue its legacy under new management.
“The months leading up to the hand-off felt like an audition in itself,” Lieberman said. “Last October, I produced Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I worked on as a Davidson student, too, and showed that I can produce more than comedy. At the same time, I was learning to run the website, sign contracts, figure out our insurance and get our liquor license. I’m lucky to learn from amazing mentors.”
Hysterical, Part Two
Even as she expanded her reach, Lieberman kept coming back to Hysterical. She loved writing, directing and performing her own thesis and wondered if something similar could be transformed into a full standup routine.
The New York Comedy Festival features more than 200 comedians each year, ranging from Saturday Night Live alums to newbies. This year’s lineup includes heavy hitters like Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris and Trevor Wallace, to name a few. QED has always hosted shows for the festival, and this year, Lieberman will take the stage to perform Hysterical, A Silly, Musical Story of Impending Cancer.
Much has changed in her life since the show’s first rendition at Davidson, but the core themes remain the same. In college, she tested positive for BRCA1, an inherited gene that drastically increases her likelihood of developing ovarian cancer later in life. This prognosis affects Lieberman’s relationship with her mother, an ovarian cancer survivor, her future plans and, yes, her sense of humor.
“It lends itself to all kinds of jokes,” she said. “Revisiting this show has been an excellent reflection of my younger self. My problems and worries have changed, my life has changed, and my jokes have changed, too.”
In one song reworked from the original show, I’m Just Not That Jewish, Lieberman explores how differently she experiences her faith in NYC as opposed to at a small college in the South. She hopes local Davidson alums will attend, laugh and reflect together.
“I wish I could tell my younger self I would get here,” Lieberman said. “My Davidson mentors gave me the space to tell my story, and QED is how I can pay it forward. Now, when people come to me with their ideas, I can give them support, a microphone and a place to perform.”
Check it out!
If you’ll be in NYC and want to support Hannah’s show, we invite you to QED Astoria Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets available online at qedastoria.com/products/hysterical.
