Rachel Bloom

She lives at the exact intersection of alternative comedy and musical theater. While most musical comics use an acoustic guitar to punctuate short punchlines, Bloom writes actual show tunes with bridges and key changes. She plays theaters, drawing an audience that appreciates a structural homage to Stephen Sondheim just as much as a crude sight gag. Her live shows blur the line between a traditional comedy hour and an Off-Broadway play, often incorporating scene partners and elaborate stage conceits.

The laughs come from the whiplash between form and content. She will adopt the earnest delivery of an eleventh-hour solo to sing about something entirely scatological. This structure lets her talk about massive, terrifying things, like cosmic grief or a dangerous childbirth, without ever letting the room get heavy. Because the songs are so tightly arranged, she rarely has to sit in a quiet room. The music acts as a shield, packaging the darkest fears into upbeat hooks.

That ability to turn psychological spirals into huge production numbers drove her television series, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Her television fans make up the core of her live crowds, arriving ready to watch her transform panic into sheet music.