By Peter Lindblad
To her absolute horror, Fortune Feimster discovered that homosexuality was illegal in the Maldives. That just happened to be where she was going with her wife on their honeymoon. This revelation occurred on the flight there while thumbing through a travel guide.
They were doomed.
Of course, it made for an uncomfortable vacation, to say the least, as the genial Feimster did everything in her power to hide being a gay couple, always on high alert to anything that could tip off the authorities. The extreme lengths they went to were pored over in Feimster’s playful, utterly delightful set at the Overture Center’s Capitol Theater in Madison on Feb. 25, as part of her current “Live, Laugh, Love” tour.
An affable storyteller, her material full of whimsy and amplified by her coy, self-deprecating charm, Southern drawl sunshine and likeably clumsy physicality, Feimster kept the laughs coming. One minute, she was bemoaning how it dawned on her that she, at one time, had somehow become her eccentric mom’s de-facto husband – boundaries be damned – and the next, she was ranting about a teenage rival, who kept stealing her spotlight. Don’t worry. She gets what’s coming to her in the end.
Both literally and figuratively, Feimster covered a lot of ground onstage, with coming-of-age awkwardness and the absurdity of adulthood emerging as common themes. Don’t intellectualize it too much, though. What Feimster does best is share the relatable foibles and fumbles she’s experienced and turn it into comedy, laughing at herself and everybody else in this ridiculous human zoo the whole way. Few stand-up comedians working today do it better.
Other top-notch comedians are coming our way this week. Here’s a preview:
Comedy on State – Madison
Francis Ellis & Lil Sasquatch (March 7-9) – Barstool Sports invades Wisconsin’s capitol city with a doubleheader of edgy, youthful irreverence – the easygoing Lil Sasquatch, notable for hosting the “Son of a Boy” and “The Yak” podcasts, and Ellis, a writer/content creator, comedian and actor for the same outlet. Ellis seems to have an obsession for traffic issues, being a New Yorker, and Sasquatch is a Boston transplant in the Big Apple with an affinity for the Buffalo Bills. Their buddy comedy is probably being written as we speak. Get the lowdown on both on their websites, https://lilsasquatchwebsite.com/ and https://www.francisellis.com/home.
Skyline Comedy Club – Appleton
Comedic Cody Smith (March 8) – If going viral is wrong, the ingenious Smith doesn’t want to be right, as he’s convinced four million TikTok subscribers and 200,000 Instagram followers to become disciples. A touring comedian for the past few years, Smith has ascended quickly, with his funny videos taking the internet by storm. Insightful and witty, but also eager to win your heart, Smith arrives in Appleton for this special event to spread happiness and joy. And he likes dogs. Get a taste for what’s in store here: https://www.instagram.com/comedic_cody/.
The Laughing Tap – Milwaukee
Akeem Woods (March 8-9) – “Sex Sells,” and Akeem Woods is buying. Set to appear on season two of the Fuse TV series, Woods is a regular at New City’s Comedy Cellar and comes off as sort of a giggly, effervescent comic like Ron Funches. And that’s a good thing. Unabashedly gay, Woods approaches issues of race and sexual orientation with a disarming friendliness that’s engaging and personable. His warm energy is undeniable, and yet, there’s a slight mischievous side to his act that’s undeniable. Get all of Woods – a semifinalist on “Stand Up NBC” who’s appeared on Kevin Hart’s LOL Network and “The Late Late Show with James Corden” – here: https://www.akeemwoods.com/.