In the world of comedy, the last decade is destined to be remembered for the emergence of empowered female stand-ups. Rest assured, plenty of women blazed the comedy trail long before the first Obama administration (Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr and Ellen DeGeneres come immediately to mind). But with few exceptions, the first couple generations of female stand-ups performed material that—while funny and occasionally groundbreaking—rarely touched on the kind of taboo subjects that their male counterparts often addressed with impunity.
That all changed in recent years, when women like Amy Schumer, Whitney Cummings and Sarah Silverman took a sledgehammer to a different kind of glass ceiling, rising to prominence on the strength of cutting-edge, definitely not-safe-for-work material. Without that glass shattering, it’s unlikely that shoot-from-the-lip stand-up Nikki Glaser would be where she is today: celebrating her first Netflix special and playing large theaters for the first time. Of course, Glaser’s ascent to headliner status wouldn’t have happened if her material wasn’t sharper than her tongue. So while women comics now (thankfully) enjoy the freedom to work blue, they understand the blueprint for success remains unchanged: You gotta be funny. And Glaser certainly is.
The Mirage, 10 p.m. Feb. 16, starting at $29.99 plus tax and fee, 16+. 702.792.7777
