Everywhere she goes,Michelle Buteauhas a rapt audience.
Its like going to church, shes saying of playing to the venues nearly 6,000 seats.
You gotta let the people in the back feel it.
But her eyes keep darting to a table nearby.
A small dog is panting and straining at its lead to reach her.
Hes been staring at me this whole time, Buteau says, blowing kisses his way.
So, the hot guy thats on the come-up in TriBeCa with 30-foot ceilings and shit?
He cheats on you.
Whats your money gonna get you?
Its the one-and-a-half-bedroom in Crown Heights….
Which is a lovely neighborhood!
she adds, an outstretched hand preempting my defense of my home base.
What is the work version of horny?
Buteaus comedy is rooted in self-empowerment with an eye toward silliness relatability that never veers too far into self-deprecation.
She often calls herself Beyonce for government workers.
When I ask if she considers her work self-help, she responds, Brene Brown Titties?
referencing the renowned expert on feeling feelings.
As Buteau puts it, Ive always been this freckle-faced bitch.
Its just that people are meeting me for the first time.
Buteau, 47, never planned for a life onstage.
Creative expression was not encouraged.
She needed to feel something.
Three hours of waiting for a two-minute ride.)
In the back of the room of any comedy club, one [person] is a lawyer.
One works at Chipotle.
Its a lot, mostly because Buteau really loves working.
What is the work version of horny?
she says when I ask how she feels before its time for her to perform.
Excited like, Put me in, coach.
Its an eagerness, a productive anxiety, a second home.
All that work also has to fit alongside Buteaus family life uptown in a bucolic neighborhood in the Bronx.
You couldnt tell me shit.
I was like the Blue Ivy of my fucking school.)
I have to go.
So, as usual, Buteaus eye is already on to the next thing.
Its giving bougie dreams with a bodega budget.
But she doesnt mind.
The bitches at Target be like, I see you.
And Im like, I see you, too.
Now where the Tide Pods at?
Production Credits
Styling byKEIA BOUNDS.
Makeup byDEJA SMITHatFIRST TEAM MANAGEMENT.
