Sue Costello
A Dorchester export who treats a punchline like a street fight.
1 special · 2001
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Sue Costello hits the stage like a loud argument you overhear at a neighborhood bar. She weaponizes her heavy Dorchester accent, rattling off stories of bad boyfriends, family chaos, and survival at a shouting volume. She uses the sheer force of her voice to bulldoze through premises, operating with a manic, defensive posture. She guards herself by going on the offensive. When she wants to land a punchline, she will widen her eyes, drop her shoulders, and deliver it like she is daring the front row to disagree.
Specials
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Premium Blend: David Alan Grier (S5E1) with David Alan Grier, Greer Barnes & 2 more
David Alan Grier hosts four comics doing tight television sets.
Comedy Central · 25 min
On stage
She is a survivor of the 1990s comedy boom and an enduring fixture of the New York and Boston club circuits. She had the classic trajectory of a hot comic in that era, landing a self-titled Fox sitcom in 1998 on the strength of a tough-girl persona and a strong regional identity. When it vanished after a handful of episodes, she went back to the clubs to rebuild. She represents a specific lineage of working-class standup, grinding out sets and producing solo shows that dissect her erratic career.
Her material relies heavily on her biography. She talks about the old neighborhood and the absurdities of the entertainment industry, excelling at painting vivid portraits of the lunatics she grew up with. She uses herself as the exasperated straight man to the chaos around her. The trade-off for all that momentum is a lack of dynamic range. She operates at a ten almost constantly, leaning so hard into the combative energy that the room rarely gets a chance to exhale.
Raised in Massachusetts, her local bona fides frequently land her supporting roles in Boston-set films like The Fighter.
At a glance
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