Get a 1st Look at Ismael Loutfi's Heavenly Baba Off-Broadway

Comedian Hasan Minhaj is producing the work, which explores Loutfi’s relationship with his deeply religious immigrant father.

April 06, 2026 By Meg Masseron

Ismael Loufti in Ismael Loufti: Heavenly Baba (Jordan Ashleigh)

Comic Ismael Loutfi's new solo show, Heavenly Baba, is at SoHo Playhouse and headed for an April 9 opening night. Get a first look at the show, produced by Hasan Minhaj (The Daily Show), in the gallery below. Performances began April 2.

Greg Walloch is at the helm of the work, which explores Loutfi’s relationship with his deeply religious immigrant father (affectionately known as "Baba"), who attempted to convert the entire state of Florida to Islam by painting Islamic slogans all over his car.

Loutfi, making his Off-Broadway debut, began creating the show as a way of trying to understand his father following his passing in 2020. “I’ve dedicated my entire adult life to comedic storytelling, and in a broader sense, the pursuit of professional unseriousness...For the first time, I was confronted with something achingly unfunny," he said in an earlier statement. "My father always confounded me; he was religious and idiosyncratic in ways I couldn’t fully appreciate. Heavenly Baba began as an attempt to understand him, and after two years of building the show, I found I was actually trying to understand myself—as a son, a Muslim, and an artist. Bringing this show Off-Broadway, and having the opportunity to tell this insane story feels like the culmination of a lifetime of searching for connection.”

The production features lighting and visual design by Matt Lazarus (Little Shop of Horrors) and set design by Carter Ford.

For tickets and more information, visit SohoPlayhouse.com.