A Hilliard Davidson High School graduate who turned cafeteria jokes into a national comedy career is headlining the Columbus Funny Bone on Aug. 13.

Fumi Abe, 36, grew up in Hilliard as one of the only Asian students in his school after his family moved from Wakkanai, Hokkaido, one of the northernmost regions of Japan. He figured out early that humor was the fastest way to connect with classmates who didn't look like him.

Abe told Columbus Underground in a phone interview published Aug. 5 that stand-up gave him a space to be himself, and the people who connected with that became his community. His biggest insecurity, he said, has always been how hard it is to explain his backstory as an Asian American comedian from Japan, raised in Ohio, with parents who no longer live here.

That tribe has grown considerably. Abe performed stand-up on The Tonight Show on Dec. 9, 2023 and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He wrote jokes for NPR's Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! and the ESPYs, served as a staff writer on The Late Late Show with James Corden and worked as a story editor on Seth MacFarlane's animated series Ted. Vulture named him one of its "Comedians You Should and Will Know," and he was part of the 2023 Just For Laughs "New Faces" class.

The Aug. 13 show is only Abe's second Columbus headline. His first came in 2024 after a spotlight at the Columbus Comedy Festival.

Abe moved to New York City at 18 for college and performed stand-up there from roughly 2014 to 2021 before landing the Corden writing job and relocating to Los Angeles. He hadn't driven since high school in Ohio and got into four minor accidents, hitting walls rather than other cars, while relearning behind the wheel in L.A.

Former Davidson classmates have been messaging him ahead of the show, though Abe said he hasn't seen many of them in about 18 years. He invited anyone connected to the school to come out.

"If you're affiliated with that school — teacher, principal, whatever — come to the show, it'll be great to see you," Abe said in the Aug. 5 interview. "I love you guys. Go Wildcats!"

If you go: Thursday, Aug. 13 at the Columbus Funny Bone. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., showtime at 7 p.m. Tickets are $27–$32 plus taxes and fees. Must be 21 and up.