NY Comedy Festival’s mental health comedy show honors life
The New York Comedy Festival will present Putería con PAPIROSSA: Celebration of Life on Friday, November 6, 2026, at Littlefield in Brooklyn. Doors open at 7 PM with the show starting at 8 PM. The event features queer BIPOC performers in a drag variety format that includes dance, sketches, stand-up, character work and live music. Karl Spoerri, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, and Jay Godfrey, CEO and co-founder of Nushama, join the cast for a conversation segment.
Each Putería con PAPIROSSA show opens with a ceremonious dance number before moving through taped sketches, stand-up, character performances and live music. Celebration of Life centers the evening on mental health and delivers the material through the series’ established mix of humor, honesty and shared joy.
The conversation portion brings together the cast, Spoerri and Godfrey to examine how depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and PTSD appear in daily life. Participants will also address why many people cycle through ineffective treatments and what newer options, including Spravato esketamine nasal spray and IV ketamine infusions, are now available. The discussion attributes claims about these treatments to the participating medical professionals.
Jay Godfrey stated, “At Nushama, we believe healing happens in community, and there’s no better reminder of that than a room full of people choosing joy, connection, and honest conversation together.” The quote links the event directly to Nushama’s community-focused approach.
A portion of ticket proceeds will support organizations that provide mental health care to LGBTQ+ individuals.
Celebration of Life marks the eighth installment of the Putería con PAPIROSSA drag variety series. The NY Comedy Festival presents the recurring show, which consistently features queer BIPOC performers and rotates around distinct themes each edition.
During the conversation, participants will reference Nushama’s provision of ketamine infusions and Spravato therapy. Nushama states these treatments are offered alongside medication management at its locations in New York City, New City, New York, and Aventura, Florida, for conditions that include depression, PTSD, anxiety, OCD and other mental health issues.
Nushama presents the following comparison of reported outcomes using these units: Standard Antidepressants show a 30%–60% response rate and 5%–15% of patients with long-term results; Ketamine Infusion shows a 70%–90% response rate and 60%–80% of patients with long-term results. The figures are attributed to Nushama materials.
Nushama states it provides ketamine treatment for depression, anxiety/panic, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol use disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, suicidal ideation and postpartum depression. All claims are attributed to the Nushama source document.
Nushama describes its approach as driven by the evidence-led power of psychedelics and neurostimulation, delivered in safe, healing-focused settings with mindful intention setting, therapeutic journeys and thoughtful integration. The organization attributes its model to a medically led team that applies hospitality to medicine and integrates the latest science to help members reset and reconnect, language presented as promotional in the supplied materials.
