Stand-up tragicomedy

Described recently by the New Yorker as a “deadpan comedian of the driest vintage,” Tig Notaro is most famous for the simultaneously hilarious and devastating set she performed a few days after finding out she had breast cancer (a diagnosis that came closely on the heels of her mother's death). Louis CK declared it one of the “handful of truly great, masterful standup sets” he'd ever seen and made it available for download on his website. As you might guess, Notaro kind of blew up after that, maintaining that discomfiting tone with a recent show in which she took off her shirt in reaction to catcalls from the audience to reveal scars from her double mastectomy. It's a rare talent, making comedy out of intensely personal tragedy, and Notaro brims with it.