Iliza, Ben Roy and more on tap
Even though we’re already a week in, there’s plenty of great stand-up hitting Colorado in March. Here are some of our favorites, from local boys madegood to a touring and podcast favorite who only goes by one name (lately, anyway).
All shows are 21-and-up unless otherwise noted.
Dan Soder. When is having a dead, alcoholic dad funny? When you’re Aurora native Dan Soder, the 36-year-old who recently nailed his HBO debut with the deceptively swaggering “Son of Gary” (released in December, streaming now). Having lived in New York City for the last 14 (or so) years has only heightened a self-deprecating charm that unites Soder’s inherent middleclass dudeness and penchant for insightful, bittersweet turns of phrase. He’s the whole package, as they say (a very stoned, apoplectic package).
Various shows through March 7 at Comedy Works, 1226 15th St. Tickets, $25, still available for some shows. 303-595-3637 or comedyworks.com
Iliza. Is it possible to endorse a comic you don’t really like? Iliza (her last name, which was recently dropped from her showbiz persona, is Shlesigner) frequently comes as off self-satisfied, generic and opportunistic, and possibly one catchphrase away from having the sort of career that permanently banishes her to talk-radio “guys’ girl” territory.
But having built a huge touring fanbase after years of TV and film roles (next up: director Peter Berg’s “Spenser Confidential,” opposite human potato Mark Wahlberg) and experimented in legitimately interesting ways with stand-up’s comfortable confines (she was sued for running all-female comedy shows in 2017) there are reasons she’s hard to ignore, even as she plays into the same stereotypes her comedy targets.
7:30 and 10 p.m. March 13 at Bellco Theatre, 700 14th St. at the Colorado Convention Center. $35-$65. All ages. axs.com
Bobby Lee. This former MADtv cast member would have to fight hard these days to be seen as exploratory or artistic, with his penchant for slapdash crudity and impressions that toe the fine line of taste (even in the taste-free world of standup). But Lee may eventually be seen as one of the more pioneering, underappreciated comics of his generation, having done for Asian culture what George Lopez has for Latinx or Ali Wong for pregnant women (giving them genuine cultural dimensions beyond a half-dozen tired tropes). There’s a reason he remains a go-to cameo for most of your favorite TV shows, from “Curb Your Enthusiasm” to “NCIS: Los Angeles,” given his sturdy versatility.
Various shows, March 12-14 at Comedy Works, 1226 15th St. Tickets, $27, are still available for 7:30 p.m. March 14. 303-5953637 or comedyworks.com
Melissa Villaseñor. Becoming the first Latina cast member on “Saturday Night Live” (as she’s frequently billed) has bolstered Villaseñor’s profile since 2016. But we have a feeling she’d be headlining clubs anyway, toting a tool belt of talents that includes voicing animated characters (“Toy Story 4,” “Adventure Time,” “American Dad”) and disappearing into various unhinged freaks on her weekly, live TV gig. Like a less surreal Maria Bamford, her turn-on-a-dime impressions of slack-jawed yokels, prissy teens and various people who look nothing like her swing between scarily accurate and deeply, hilariously insulting.
Various shows, March 19-21 at Comedy Works, 1226 15th St. $18-$26. 303595-3637 or comedyworks.com
Ben Roy. It’s beyond cliché to dub any performer a tornado, so we’ll suggest a few more for Denver’s Ben Roy, who tends to drop cars and houses (and his own posterior) on audience members as a matter of blustery course: He’s a punk-rock atom bomb (see his band Spells, which could easily be a career in itself ); he’s a surprisingly rubbery chew toy (see his truTV sitcom “Those Who Can’t,” created with and starring Denver’s Grawlix comedy trio); and he’s a sweet-hearted misanthrope (see his previous albums, or his new podcast, “The Grawlix Saves the World”).
Roy records his new album at Comedy Works this month, and you can expect more of his seasoned, cured and rippedfrom-the-bone jokes that tend to go down like the turkey dinner scene in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (i.e., so funny you’ll need the Heimlich maneuver).
7 p.m. March 22 and 8 p.m. March 23 at Comedy Works, 1226 15th St. $14. 303-595-3637 or comedyworks.com