Get the latest gossip
Dwayne Kennedy’s Uncomfortable Truths
Revisiting the comedian’s incredible 2002 Letterman stand-up set.
A generation of Chicago comedians have been shaped by Kennedy’s example, including Kumail Nanjiani, Pete Holmes, Hannibal Buress, Beth Stelling, Kyle Kinane, and Matt Braunger. There are countless professional incentives for one’s first joke on late-night television not to begin with “I’ve been reading the Bible,” yet Kennedy’s characterization of its contents as “wine and stuff that’s hard to believe” earns him a five-second applause break for a setup line. Kennedy’s bohemian jazzman bugler and no-nonsense bass player, both unnerved by their booking in a war zone, feel like something out of a Jay Ward Bullwinkle cartoon and provide a needed infusion of playful energy.
Or read this on VULTURE