Charlyne Yi is like a bumblebee. She defies all the laws of her environment, yet totally exists. The laws of comedy say that women standups must style and groom themselves to please predictable men, not themselves, for example. Yi does not do this; she looks completely normal. In spite of this nonstandard behavior, she has had great success, as a memorable character in
Knocked Up and with her own
Paper Heart, a comedic semidocumentary about love. Awkward, thoughtful, sweet, and extremely sharp, Yi’s jokes leave room for ambiguity — is she making fun of you/herself/someone else? -- and have nabbed her fans like Demetri Martin and Seth Rogen. She also plays guitar and sings; we hope she brings a few of her birdlike covers (“Nothing Compares 2 U” or “Pretty Woman”) to the stage.
Charlyne Yi opens for Arj Barker.
May 6-9, 8 & 10:15 p.m., 2010
