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Gynecological Wonder

Bridget Everett

Comedy Central · 2015 · 47 min

Aggressively dirty musical comedy from a downtown cabaret fixture.

Before she was a prestige television lead, Bridget Everett was an alt-cabaret provocateur whose live shows operated on pure force of personality. Accompanied by her backing band, the Tender Moments, she blends genuinely impressive vocal control with extreme physical comedy. This is an act built on escalating chaos, featuring original music about bodily fluids, frequent wine-swigging, and a habit of dragging front-row audience members into uncomfortably close proximity with her chest and lap.

Filmed at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater in New York City, the venue where she spent years cultivating a dedicated downtown following, Gynecological Wonder captured her stage act just as it started gaining national traction. Released in 2015, the hour arrived at a point when frequent appearances on her friend Amy Schumer’s sketch show had begun introducing her to a broader demographic. Executive produced by Ben Stiller’s Red Hour, the show functions less as a traditional stand-up routine and more as a documented performance of her club persona: a woman who might belt out a flawless high note before threatening the crowd and shedding most of her clothes.

The set list

4 bits
  1. Titties

    A high-energy musical celebration embracing the varied shapes and sizes of breasts and female anatomy.

  2. What I Gotta Do

    A comedic song demanding to know what one must do to offer oral sex, exploring the absurdity of sexual interactions.

  3. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    Closing cabaret reflection closer

    Everett engages with the traditional cabaret format while joking that everyone in the room is waiting for the form to catch fire.

  4. Fuck Shit Up

    A musical number performed onstage with backing band The Tender Moments.

How it plays

Tone
Raucous, raunchy, vulgar, heartfelt, and unpredictable.
On stage
An unfiltered 'alt-cabaret provocateur', bold, brassy, sexually charged, swigging brown-bagged Chardonnay and performing braless in a plunging neckline.
Pace
Fast-paced, high octane, and explosive; singing at full throttle with physically reckless, uninhibited momentum.
About
female anatomy, sexual appetite and oral sex, Chardonnay, cabaret traditions

What the critics said

Praised for successfully capturing Everett's singular, delicious downtown cabaret energy and intimate participatory dynamic for television, presenting a refreshingly uninhibited alternative to traditional stand-up formats.

In the room: Charged, wild, and intensely participatory, with audience members subjected to close contact, face-sitting, and direct physical involvement.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: cc.com, imdb.com, bridgeteverett.comedydirect.com, allmovie.com, flavorwire.com, vulture.com, vogue.com, en.wikipedia.org, decider.com.

Backstory

Everett was developing a Comedy Central pilot titled Bridget Drives a Bus with Kathleen Hanna and Adam Horovitz; when that stalled, the network offered her a one-hour special to translate her downtown alt-cabaret act to national television.

Details

Released
Taped
Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, New York City
Runtime
47 min
Where
Comedy Central
Director
Lance Bangs
Topics

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