By Alana Dore, deputy inside editor
Best Comedy Album Grammy-nominated comedian Tig Notaro headlined a dynamic show when she visited Blackman Auditorium this Tuesday at an event sponsored by Northeastern University’s Council for University Programs (CUP), which featured some spontaneous additions.
Originally set for Jan. 29, Notaro’s performance was rescheduled because of the first in a series of snow storms to hit the Boston area. Despite CUP’s earnesty in rescheduling Notaro’s show, Blackman was far from full with a small yet excited audience of around 150 people.
As the showcases chair for CUP, James Huessy, a senior history major, helps choose who is invited to perform at Northeastern.
“It’s sort of a guessing game,” Huessy said. “There’s kind of what would be good versus what will get people in seats. I thought Tig would be good, and I figured she would bring a [different] kind of comedy … because we had Adam DeVine and [we thought] we should have someone more indie so that we’re not just aiming at the frat bros in the audience.”
As the clock ticked past 7:15 p.m., the audience was beginning to wonder if there was going to be another cancellation. Huessy and the CUP members were able to think on their feet, however. Although the opener was listed as Matt Chaves, two other comedians, Emerson College senior Matt McEwan and Huessy, stepped in to keep the audience entertained and compensate for Notaro’s delay.
“The first Matt was not planned, but Tig [Notaro] was running about a half an hour late … He got like five seconds’ notice and went out and killed it,” Huessy said of McEwan, who was sitting in the audience when Huessy asked him to open the show.
With a style of comedy that was often hit-or-miss, McEwan’s self-deprecating and expressionless humor sent tremors of laughter through the audience. McEwan’s one-liner jokes were an obvious hit, clashing like the cymbals on a drum-kit: quick and concise, yet resonant.
Following McEwan, Huessy took the stage for his surprise set. The majority of his jokes centered around international topics: the Eastern European kid in his screenwriting class, the year he spent in Germany as a high school freshman and his run-ins with French-Canadians while in his home state of Vermont. Huessy clearly chose his set carefully, as the globally-inclined subject matter allowed for him to show off a range of entertaining impressions.
After the host of the night was Matt Chaves, the scheduled opener who recently performed at the 2014 Boston Comedy Festival. He performs frequently at The Comedy Studio and hosts a regular show in Davis Square called “Smile and Error” at Comicazi Comics.
Chaves’ set revolved around topics he could strangely relate to his own life, including: an explanation of why pirates had to be good at trigonometry, how Japan is a place worth visiting – unlike Texas – and the revelation that maple syrup can help clean up toxic waste. His transitions between joke segments were smooth and provided a storyline along which he placed comedic packages on various subjects.
Although the reception of Chaves’ jokes about hotly debated subjects, such as the conflict between Palestine and Israel, was mixed, his quips were insightful and most of his comedic efforts were met with gallant applause.
When Notaro finally took the stage about an hour after the show’s scheduled start time, it was with a calmer, more conversational style than the acts who came before her.
Notaro is most commonly recognized for her role as “Officer Tig” in “The Sarah Silverman Program.” She has also guest starred on “The Office” and “Transparent” and was nominated for a Grammy in 2014 for her sophomore album “Live,” but lost to Kathy Griffin’s “Calm Down Gurrl.”
Notaro talked with the audience rather than at them. She shared her rare, hilarious experiences in a compelling format reminiscent of childhood storytelling. Her humor was never vulgar, she rarely swore and, more often than not, one could infer a moral or two from her anecdotes.
Despite the meritorious undertones of her set, Notaro touched on topics less than comedic. She spoke openly about the hardest moments of her life: when her mother died suddenly and Notaro was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer. Even with the dark subject matter, Notaro never ventured into the self-pitying, “woe is me” realm. She kept a laissez-faire attitude throughout her set on material ranging from learning where she would be buried to a Santa Claus sighting.
“Tig [Notaro] is like the best person in the entirety of the universe,” Ali Campbell, sophomore political science and international affairs major, said. “I’ve been wanting to go to one of her shows for so long but hadn’t been able to, and then they cancelled her last show due to the snow.”
Notaro’s jokes never seemed to end. They just extended and appeared to evolve according to how the audience reacted. Each time Notaro opened her mouth to speak, it was over the background of fading giggles, hiccups and the occasional snort as the audience struggled to regain steady breathing.
Notaro’s frequent interaction with the audience and informal style made the size of the audience, and many empty seats, even more apparent. Multiple times, Notaro pointed out the half-full theater. “Can you at least sit in a seat so it looks like there’s more people here?” Notaro said to the ushers lining the walls of Blackman.
Although she got a late start, Notaro completed a full 60-minute set. The smaller audience allowed for everyone in the theater to feel as though they were part of the conversation and personally invited into her inner sanctum. These guests nodded, laughed and cheered along as Notaro told the highlights and lowlights of her life, all with the same inscrutable expression.
If you missed the show, Notaro will be returning to Boston to tape a live HBO special at the Wilbur Theatre on May 31.
Photo Courtesy Ruthie Wyatt
