By Linda Chin

The spectacular autobiographical solo performance piece Dishwasher Dreams, now running at Merrimack Rep through March 24, blends its writer and star Alaudin Ullah’s Bangladeshi, Muslim, and comedic roots.  For years, the one-time stand-up comic, popular on the NYC and LA comedy circuits in the ‘90s (and who appeared nationally on Comedy Central, HBO, and MTV), used the name Aladdin, changing his name by one letter (‘u’ to ‘d’) to make it “easier for show business and white people.” In reclaiming his birthname, reportedly after a return visit to Bangladesh after his mother’s death, Ullah demonstrates that he is proud to be his father’s – a dishwasher’s son, appreciates and accepts his mother’s advice that success is “not about money…[but] having the courage to do something most would not…just never forget where you are from” and, is “over the Disney sh*t.”  

Read more “‘Dishwasher Dreams’ at Merrimack Rep is a Home Run”