HBO Comedy Half-Hour: Adele Givens

Adele Givens leans into the microphone and frequently declares herself a lady, a signature punchline that captures her specific brand of comedy. She takes the societal expectations of womanhood, strips away the politeness, and replaces it with unapologetic frankness and street-smart swagger. Filmed in 1996 at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, this entry in the HBO Comedy Half-Hour series catches the comic riding the momentum of her breakout appearances on Def Comedy Jam. The twenty-eight-minute set relies on reality-based humor drawn from her working-class Chicago background. She spends a good portion of the show taking aim at commercialism and designer clothes, delivering her material with a confident, cynical edge.