by Steve Desroches
When Liza Minnelli wanted the world to know how to correctly pronounce her name she sang about it. With the help of the legendary writing and composing team of Kander and Ebb, the song “Say Liza (Liza with a ‘Z’)” became a standout track on the soundtrack album Liza with a Z that accompanied her 1972 television special of the same name. And she offered this reminder as to how to say her name:
It’s Liza with ‘Z’ not Lisa with an ‘S’
‘Cause Lisa with an ‘S’ goes ‘sss,’ not ‘zzz’
It’s ‘Z’ instead of ‘S’, ‘Lie’ instead of ‘Lee’
It’s simple as can be, see, Liza!
When it comes to rising star Liza Treyger, she has the opposite to say. The standup comedian pronounces her name “Lee” instead of “Lie,” but with the “zzz” making it “Lee-za.” Liza Treyger. And it won’t be too much longer that Treyger will have to point out the pronunciation of her name as her career is on a steep trajectory as she is consistently named one of the top comedians in the country to watch by everyone from the New York Times to Variety.
It’s been a wild ride. Born in Odessa, Ukraine in 1987, when it was still part of the Soviet Union, Treyger immigrated to the United States with her family when she was three years old eventually settling in Skokie, Illinois. Moving to a new town can be difficult on its own, never mind leaving a country and culture behind for a completely foreign new home. While she was so young as to not have memories of the old country, growing up with immigrant parents can be a unique experience as they don’t have the cultural references and experiences with which to explain your new homeland. And for those with immigrant parents who go into comedy, it is often the source of fabulous material.
“Yeah, I do think the more of an outsider you are, you see things differently,” says Treyger. “You find humor in what you don’t understand. You can find your own voice, too, when you’re an outsider. I didn’t grow up listening to comedy albums, watching specials or having a favorite comic I looked up to. I had no context for any of it. No idols. I came into comedy as myself and found my own voice. And yeah, of course I totally make fun of my immigrant parents.”
Since starting her comedy career at 17 years old, when still a student at North Park University in Chicago where she co-founded Riot Comedy, a weekly women-run showcase, Treyger has gone on to appear on Late Night with Seth Meyers and Chelsea Lately, with stand-out performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and on NBC’s Last Comic Standing. She’s landed roles in The King of Staten Island and Survival of the Thickest, as well as guest spots on tons of podcasts, including co-hosting the hit That’s Messed Up: An SVU Podcast in which she and Kara Klenk dissect episodes of Law and Order: SVU. It was her 2025 Netflix special Night Owl that really gave her career a high-octane boost. But her role in the 2022 science fiction horror film Nope, directed by Jordan Peele, was the highlight to her. While Night Owl was an hour-long show, her appearance in Nope was only about 20 seconds and she gets kicked by a horse in it. In the credits her role is listed as “Commercial Makeup Artist.”
“It meant everything to me,” says Treyger. “My mother was like ‘That’s it?! That’s all?!’ But there is no such thing as a small role in a Jordan Peele movie. I was thrilled. I’m on set with Donna Mills, Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya. I actually had my own parking spot on the lot! It was crazy.”
Now a New Yorker, Treyger is coming to the Pilgrim House to make her Provincetown debut this week, a stop on a national tour. She can’t believe it’s taken this long to come to Provincetown as amongst her friends in New York the town is often a topic of conversation. She’s ready for “cupcakes, lesbian bookstores, and shopping.” As excited as she is, she’s also nervous, as Provincetown might be a problem for her. As much of her material in the past has brought into focus, she is bad with money. She had a whole webseries called Bad with Money, where in each episode she shared items that she recently bought that she totally didn’t need. And now that she’s making some real money, well, it’s a bit bonkers.
“Oh, yeah, I’m even worse now,” says Treyger. “I’ve been buying all kinds of crap for weeks now. My apartment is full. I cut out weed though so now I’m saving like 15K a year to be honest. New York City is just so convenient, so I buy whatever I want because it’s there. And I’m crazy addicted to Etsy. Why yes, I do need a homemade Heated Rivalry enamel pin. Ptown better get ready. The GDP is going to go way up once I arrive. GDP? Is that a thing for Provincetown? I’m not even sure what it is.”
While she might not be clear on everything about economics, she does know what’s on the minds of her audiences. The buzzword of the day, which has been a reality for tens of millions of Americans for a long time but only recently garnered the attention of politicians, is affordability. Comedians serve an important role in society and culture, and the need to laugh is palpable, Treyger says.
“People are looking for a good time and something to get them off their phones,” says Treyger. “People are broke. They can’t afford to do anything and they just want a night out to forget about things, so they’ll come to a comedy show. They do not want to hear about Trump. They want to forget the world for a while. They just want to laugh and not go into debt over it.”
Liza Treyger performs at the Pilgrim House, 336 Commercial St., Thursday, July 23 through Sunday, July 26 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets ($40/$50/$75) are available at the box office and online at pilgrimhouseptown.com. For more information call 508.487.6424.
