Alaudin Ullah, foreground, tells his life story in "Dishwasher Dreams," accompanied by tabla player Avirodh Sharma, at Hartford Stage Feb. 24 through March 20. (Hartford)
If you spent much time in New York comedy clubs in the 1990s, you likely remember Alaudin Ullah. At the time, he went by the stage name “Alladin,” but traveling to Bangladesh after his mother died he reclaimed that part of his identity.
“Every time I was in the Middle East, everyone pronounced my name properly. Here, people wouldn’t get it. My mother used to say ‘Why not make them pronounce it?’”
Years ago, he left the full-time, late-night grind of comedy clubs and turned his talents to playwriting.
“Comedy is cute when you’re 22, but when you’re in your 30s it’s different,” says Ullah, now in his 50s. “I didn’t want to end up bitter and cynical.”
When not working on a slew of writing projects, as well as the forthcoming documentary “Bengali Harlem,” he works for the New York Department of Education giving young performers advice on how to start their careers.
As a playwright he’s studied with some of the greats: David Henry Hwang (”M. Butterfly”), Lynn Nottage (”Sweat”) and Paula Vogel (”The Baltimore Waltz”).