Comedy Central Presents: Adele Givens

Adele Givens questions the utility of a Rolex, outlines her firm refusal to board an airplane, and suggests that poetry might be the ideal tool for initiating tense conversations with relatives. Taking the stage for a tight half-hour, her pacing is deliberate. She does not rush to the punchline, opting instead to let the audience sit with the absurdity of spending money on designer clothes or the logistics of a “sex sandwich”.

Aired in May 2002, the broadcast caught the comic at a high point in her visibility. She had recently co-headlined the highly successful Queens of Comedy tour, building on a reputation established through Def Comedy Jam and The Players Club. The cable format gives her room to shift away from theater-level volume and lean into the observant, conversational mechanics of her act.