DELRAY BEACH – The latest rise of the South is being led by older women.
Today’s Stand-Up Spotlight leads with a Washington Post feature on the female comedians of the South, beginning with 57-year old Leanne Morgan and 58-year old Karen Morgan. Both women joke frequently about hormone imbalances, taking a deep dive into menopause.
The make-up of audiences they draw is similar to that of a country music concert. They attend for a good time, not to be preached to by the woke.
The story offers interesting insights into the current state of comedy and is not what would be expected from the Washington Post.
The Spotlight heads into the weekend with a look back at Steven Wright’s blazing first appearances on the Tonight Show; Irish comedian Deidre O’Kane’s quest to keep her daughter from trying comedy; and a quick look at the best comedy specials thus far this year.
Let loose on a Funny Friday.
STAND-UP SPOTLIGHT – May 11, 2023
‘Y’all are precious’: Gen X Southern moms are what works in comedy now
Comic Leanne Morgan is an insistently Southern performer, a rare grandma working stand-up. She is 57 and never lets audiences forget. She found her lane, and grabbed it — even if it took two decades for her to blow up.
The jokes are about being too tired for intimacy with her husband, failing Weight Watchers nine times, fatigue about almost everything. She calls her audience “my precious darlings.”
Steven Wright Used Up Three Years of Material In One Week of ‘Tonight Show’ Appearances
“Johnny was so impressed,” Conan O’Brien marveled on this week’s Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast. “You were so different and so smart that they invited you back very quickly.”
“It was insane,” replied Wright, noting that he’d performed on Friday and was asked back for the following Thursday. Tonight Show producer Jim McCauley called Wright to talk about the show, and the monotone comic assumed they were going to review the previous week’s set. “No, no, no,” said McCauley. “We want you to go on tomorrow.”
Deirdre O’Kane tried to ‘steer’ daughter away from following her into comedy world
Deirdre O’Kane has said that she tried to ‘steer’ her daughter away from following her career path into the world of comedy.
The Irish comic shares two teenage children, Holly and Daniel, with her film-maker husband Stephen Bradley, who she tied the knot with back in 2000.
The Best Comedy Specials of 2023 (So Far)
Although it’s too early to say what the full year in comedy will look like, the first four months of the year have already provided a stellar slate of new specials. The best of 2023 so far are mostly from comedy veterans, and many are pointed personal reflections — Marc Maron and John Mulaney think specifically about the last few years, while Marlon Wayans and Mo’Nique do full, career-length reconsiderations. But each comedian approaches those subjects differently, and they make for wildly distinct end results. Mae Martin’s special tightens into a frustrated public service announcement; Wayans gets raucous; Kyle Kinane wanders through a glorious story about a van in the desert. There are many flavors of great comedy, and part of the pleasure of a great special is watching how comedians can translate intimate specificity into a resonant universality.
