Thought Provoking

Mary Beth Barone walks onto the stage in a glittering archival Versace chainmail slip dress, a piece originally worn by Kate Moss in 1999, and immediately sets the demographic boundaries of her audience. Declaring that her set is exclusively “for girls, gay guys, and the straight men who love us,” she delivers a 40-minute, self-produced debut that relies heavily on her characteristic deadpan pacing and cool, detached delivery. Rather than trying to win over every corner of the room, she leans into the ultra-specific sensibilities of her internet-fluent following, bringing a dry, millennial skepticism to topics that range from the mundanity of modern dating to unexpected geopolitical history.

Filmed in Brooklyn, New York, and released independently on YouTube in March 2024, the special finds Barone tackling a slate of highly modern anxieties. She discusses her bisexuality, her confusion regarding trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs), and her exit from a strict Catholic upbringing. She also mixes in broader targets, including a breakdown of the Vietnam War, the rise of artificial intelligence, and a pitch-perfect imitation of the increasingly desperate fundraising text messages sent by the Democratic Party.

At the time of the release, Barone was already a prominent figure in the Brooklyn and Manhattan alternative comedy scenes, largely due to her cult-favorite live show, Drag His Ass: A Fuckboy Treatment Program, and her highly popular podcast Ride, which she co-hosts with her frequent creative partner Benito Skinner. The self-released special served as a showcase for her low-energy, highly composed, and deliberately fashionable performance style just before she transitioned into mainstream acting and writing for Skinner’s A24-produced Amazon series, Overcompensating. It earned her a return slot on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote it and paved the way for a subsequent hour-long special deal with Netflix.