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After years of traveling, Nick Colletta knows all about the stigma surrounding Philadelphia.
And as a longtime stand-up comedian, Colletta attracted an unfair bias in each city he visited like a lightning rod.
“I love Philadelphians and I don’t like the road much,” said Colletta, an Archbishop Ryan graduate who lived in several parts of the city. “Especially when they found out I was from Philly. That’s what really (ticked) me off even more. When they would say, “From Philadelphia, let’s hear it for Nicky … (boos) … I haven’t even said anything yet.”
Colletta has taken on a crusade of polishing Philadelphia’s historic reputation via his live show called Proud to be a Philadelphian, described as a “clap-back at the outsiders who love to hate his city.”
Although his usual audience are mostly locals who love their hometown, Colletta engages with his audiences by battling imaginary “outsiders” in an 80-minute ride through slides and colorful vignettes of why Philadelphia is so special.
“It’s every outsider whose face I see and I keep them in a storage bin in my mind,” Colletta said of his angry banter during each show. “It’s all the things that have been said to me when I was out on the road and had my Eagles or Phillies jersey on. When you walk down the street, they move aside because they are afraid of us.”
Colletta, 66, has worked the comedy circuits but is retiring from cracking jokes at late-night clubs. Partly because of the difficulties as a Type 1 diabetic, Colletta prefers to stay local and perform his one-man show that premiered at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in 2023 and received numerous positive reviews.
With a chip on his shoulder, Colletta’s main focus is to enlighten the audience of just how special Philadelphia is and why the rest of the world misunderstands his city’s passion.
“My grandfather used to make me walk from Port Richmond down to Center City because he loved to walk,” Colletta said. “He was an old Italian guy who loved to point out all the historical things about our city. That stayed with me my whole life. I think he put into me how important our city is and that will never leave me.”
Contributed photo
During the pandemic, Colletta had the idea to turn his mission into an actual show. It’s packed with more than 150 slides of great Philadelphians and their contributions, including several from South Philly, where Colletta lived for a while near 29th and McKean streets.
South Philly icons Marian Anderson, Jerry Blavat, Mario Lanza, Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell and the Mummers are just a few. Colletta also dives into lesser-known — or sometimes forgotten — city treasures like the evolution of the board game Monopoly, Fleer Bubble Gum, the first Ronald McDonald House and the Slinky.
“All we’ve done for ya and you get to enjoy it every single day,” Colletta said. “I think they’re just jealous of us because we are the greatest city. You don’t have to like us but you have to respect us.”
Colletta said the negative reputation of the city nationwide hurt him deeply during several events of his life. He wanted to show the positive things he enjoys from Philly.
“I just wanted to give back to the city,” he said. “Have they given me highs? Absolutely. Have they given me lows? I cried on the bar the night the MOVE bomb hit because I knew what was going to be said about my city.”
Colletta pointed to the good that was done by the city in recovering from the tragic plane crash at the Roosevelt Mall last year. Colletta performed a free show on Jan. 10 just a short walk away at the Northeast Regional Library on Cottman Avenue and he hopes to bring his show to more places to help organizations raise money.
He will perform his show at Archbishop Ryan on Jan. 30 and he’s hoping for more opportunities to spread his good message of the city quite often in what will be a huge year of tourism in Philadelphia in 2026.
“I’m just happy when anybody talks good about Philadelphia because I’m so tired of hearing bad things about us,” he said. “Hopefully this year, we will be able to shift the narrative about our city with all the tourists coming in for the 250th anniversary.”
Colletta will be ready if the opportunity comes. He practices his show three times a week in his living room and has an incredible support system in his wife Cathy, who contributes heavily to the final presentation.
“She is the reason I’ve had success. She has basically put this show together and directed me from the couch when I rehearse this show,” he said. “She’s been involved with stand-up comedy since I met her in 1994. She could probably count on one hand how many shows she missed.”
Cathy is from Edison, New Jersey but has become a Philly girl since moving to the city 30 years ago. She gives the first critique on new material and handles all the visuals, marketing and social media.
“He’s the creative one,” Cathy said. “He’s the one that has the mind and the imagination. He sees the picture and I make the picture happen.”
Together, they are making a difference. The show is being offered to any organization around the city to help raise money for worthy causes. Visit www.proudtobeaphiladelphian.com for more details.
“I offer this to the city and any organization in Philadelphia,” Nick said. “Anybody that needs to make money, I want to help. This is my purpose in life now.”
He might even be a decent tour guide.
“People ask me do you know where the Rocky steps are? I say no,” Colletta said. “But I do know where the steps are to one of the greatest art museums in the country.”