Actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish will be performing five shows at the Comedy Attic between Thursday and Saturday.
Haddish recently had a breakout role as Dina in "Girls Trip," according to the Comedy Attic's website, and she has been involved in several other projects. She has acted in films such as "Keanu" and "Meet the Spartans," as well as television shows like "New Girl" and Kevin Hart's show "Real Husbands of Hollywood."
The Comedy Attic's owner, Jared Thompson, said Haddish's appearance at the venue has been a long time coming.
"I've discussed her multiple times over the years with her agent, all the way back to 2008 when I first saw a clip of her," Thompson said. "She is someone who I could tell from back then she had a chance. She stood out even when she was a lot younger. She has a star quality that you don't necessarily see with every comedian."
Recently, Haddish had an hour-long special on Showtime titled "Tiffany Haddish: She Ready! From the Hood to Hollywood!" Thompson said he is particularly excited about Haddish's coming to the Comedy Attic because it will be her first live date since the release of her Showtime special and "Girls Trip."
"For us in a town with 40,000 residents plus students, to have a movie star this soon after students come back is pretty crazy," Thompson said. "We really lucked out that when we scheduled the date that "Girls Trip" ended up being the biggest comedy of the year so far."
While Haddish has acted in several films and television shows, Thompson said that she brings a strong talent as a comedian, too.
"She is very physical on stage," Thompson said. "It's kind of like a rarity in comedy these days where people are so active on stage. Like you don't see it as much as you use to."
Haddish also stands out for her sense of authenticity, Thompson said.
"She's also very personal," Thompson said. "One of the things that really drew me to her from when she was a lot younger was that she made me believe that she was telling the truth. With Tiffany, you can tell that she has lived through every second of the joke that she is telling you on stage."
Thompson said that it is a rarity to find someone who feels so personal, real and raw on stage, like Haddish. He also said that almost any topic could be touched on in Haddish's set.
"She's probably a little dirtier than the average person that we bring in, too," Thompson said. "I mean she definitely doesn't shy away from really any topic, and so she goes down some fairly dark and colorful roads in her act."
Brad Wilhelm, who will host all five of Haddish's shows at the Comedy Attic, said that beyond making a crowd laugh, Haddish simply has an undeniably likable aura.
"If you saw her Colbert appearance, what makes Tiffany remarkable is that not only is her material funny, but she is just infectiously genuine," Wilhelm said, referring to Haddish's recent appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." "I mean you look at Tiffany, you listen to her, and you just immediately are on board with her. Wherever she wants to take you, you're ready to go. She's going to take you there, by sheer force of her personality."
Haddish will perform at the Comedy Attic, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut Streets, at 8 p.m. on Aug. 24, at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.mon Aug. 25, and at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 26.
