Hannah and Her Standup
Yesterday, I posted Hannah Einbinder's appearance as a guest contestant on the NPR quiz show, Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me! In her interview with host Peter Sagal, they talk briefly about her first time on Stephen Colbert’s show where she was the youngest stand-up they’d ever had on. This below is that appearance. It’s funny and…unique.
But that doesn't do it justice. It's also impressively bold. Because she's not only just 24 years old, but she's also never appeared on national TV before, as far as I know. And the audience doesn't have a clue who she is -- which is significant for any new comedian...but critical in an act as "unique" as hers, which is almost out of a weird 1950s beatnik nightclub, where all that's missing is the bongos, and identifying with the comic is deeply important. Yet she still chose to do this. The audience doesn't quite know what to make of it at first, but after the first, eventual tentative laughs, they catch on, realize what is going on and that this is very good, and go along for the ride, exploding at the end.
By the way, it doesn't get mentioned much (if ever) in her interviews, but Einbinder's mother is Laraine Newman. But as much as she clearly comes from good comedy genes, she's carved out her out path.
Also worth noting -- when she made her second appearance on The Late Show, this time for a sit-down interview, Colbert mentions about how he told his staff how good she was, and his staff told him, "Er...she was on the show." And that was this performance below -- but what Colbert adds is that her standup bit was pre-recorded when he wasn't there, which is probably even harder for a new comic, who doesn't have The Big Beloved Host there to welcome her for the audience. When she comes on stage, notice on the far left that the desk is empty
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