Only Whores Wear Purple

Rachel Feinstein’s stage presence is built on a sharp ear for voices and a talent for morphing into the weirdest people she has ever met. She uses those voices to ground her absurd life experiences, whether she’s impersonating her overbearing mother or her terrifyingly intense middle-school classmates. Instead of delivering a standard set of observational dating jokes, she treats her romantic failures with a clinical, self-deprecating distance, explaining why a woman would stay in a miserable relationship just to finish watching Breaking Bad with a partner. Filmed at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater in New York City, the special was produced and presented by Feinstein’s close friend Amy Schumer, who introduces her on stage after a pre-taped green-room bit. The 2016 release marked a career milestone for Feinstein, who was coming off writing and acting on Inside Amy Schumer and appearing in the film Trainwreck. Feinstein transitions effortlessly between high-status characters and her own chaotic reality, recounting a disastrous accidental sext sent to the wrong man, the unsolicited persistence of dick pics, and a surreal weekend in Buffalo where she crossed paths with porn star Jenna Jameson. The special’s title comes from a piece of rigid fashion advice given by her childhood nanny, a line that perfectly encapsulates the outdated, judgmental rules Feinstein spends the show systematically tearing down.