Live in Crenshaw
HBO · 2019 · 64 min
A warm high school gym performance about family and sudden fame.
An active, warm high school gymnasium in Los Angeles serves as the backdrop for a set that is fundamentally about what happens when Hollywood success collides with family expectations. Under the direction of Jerrod Carmichael, the visual style of the special feels intimate and natural, with open windows letting the afternoon sun slowly fade over the crowd. It is a fitting setting for a performance that treats the audience more like a family reunion than a formal crowd.
The core of the show centers on the aftermath of a family tragedy — specifically, the logistics of his uncle’s funeral. Howery recounts being told by his relatives that because he made it big in the movie Get Out, it is his turn to pay for the entire service. He details the subsequent family meeting, the bizarre performance of a local preacher who did not actually know the deceased, and an exhausting Greyhound bus ride to Mississippi with his grandmother.
The special arrived at a pivotal moment in Howery’s career, following his breakout film roles and the cancellation of his self-titled sitcom. This debut serves as a return to his stand-up roots, prioritizing character work over quick punchlines. His physical breakdowns of classic R&B acts, alongside an extended bit about the chaos of bringing fast-food chicken nuggets onto a public bus, highlight a performer who relies on expressive, high-energy storytelling.
The set list
-
Viral Disneyland family brawl
Provides extended comedic commentary breaking down the viral internet video of a family fight at Disneyland.
-
Planning and funding his uncle's funeral
Details how relatives guilted him into paying $6,000 and navigating the service, including a cousin who struggles to read, a soloist trying to sing all vocal parts of a hymn, and an unfamiliar pastor winging the eulogy while using a sweat towel as a prop.
-
Taking the casket to the final resting place
Chronicles the journey with his grandmother and his uncle's casket, including humorous tangents on traveling via Greyhound.
-
Classic musical performances
Re-enacts musical acts on stage, including The Whispers singing 'Rock Steady', Bone Thugs-n-Harmony performing without harmony, and Tito Jackson without his brothers.
How it plays
- Tone
- Warm, personal, honest, celebratory, and authentic.
- On stage
- Relatable, animated storyteller drawing deeply on personal family life and character impressions.
- Pace
- Described as a high-energy 'comedy pep rally' that builds with sweating, revival-like momentum as the sun sets.
- About
- family dynamics, impact of fame on family expectations, handling a family funeral, classic versus modern musical acts
What the critics said
Acclaimed by critics for its bold visual design, intimate gym setting, natural lighting, and Howery's Bernie Mac-esque, relatable family storytelling.
In the room: Rapturous and energetic, evoking a high school pep rally or Black church service with audience members standing, cheering, and affirming jokes in recognition.
Backstory
Filmed inside a high school gymnasium in Los Angeles's Crenshaw community in front of a predominantly Black audience, using late-afternoon natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows to capture the sunset and create a community pep-rally feel.
Details
- Released
- Taped
- Susan Miller Dorsey Senior High School, Los Angeles
- Runtime
- 64 min
- Where
- HBO
- Director
- Jerrod Carmichael
- Topics
- Before
- RELevent (2015)
- After
- I Said It. Y'all Thinking It. (2022)
More from Lil Rel Howery
-
Rel Talk
Tubi
-
RELevent
Comedy Central
-
Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents
Comedy Central
If you liked this
-
Ali Siddiq The Prison Manual
800 Pound Gorilla · Album
-
Brooks Wheelan The Half Hour
Comedy Central