On Jan. 30, “Night School” actress and stand-up comedian Tiffany Haddish kicked off her 2020 tour in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Her performance will be a continuation of her tour that debuted in 2018; the tour name, She Ready, is a phrase the comedian says frequently during her performances, eventually becoming her mantra over the course of her career.
Just like many others, I first discovered Haddish and her talent when watching “Girls Trip”; her career as an entertainer, however, actually began much earlier. Her first paying job in the entertainment field was “energy producer,” another term for dancer or entertainer, for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. She had this job for 11 years, starting when she was in high school and continuing on into her 20s. She then moved up to becoming a DJ but later quit to do stand-up comedy full time.
When she was 27 years old, the stand-up comedian got her first big break by being accepted on a television comedy competition series called, “Who’s Got Jokes”; she later appeared on “Def Comedy Jam” in 2008. She then began her acting career with the films “Racing for Time” and “Meet the Spartans.” She moved to television acting in 2015 when she got a lead role alongside well-known comedians Jerrod Carmicheal and Lil Rel Howery on “The Carmichael Show,” which aired on NBC from 2015 to 2017. In the series, Haddish plays Nekeisha, Jerrod’s brother Bobby’s ex-wife and best friend.
Since the release of the hit film “Girls Trip” in 2017, where she acted alongside Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah, Haddish has been busy with many projects. Just after the release of the film, Haddish was asked to host an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” making her the first black female stand-up comedian to ever host the show. That was also the year Haddish released her memoir, “The Last Black Unicorn,” which made it onto The New York Times bestseller list.
Haddish is currently on a television series alongside Tracy Morgan called “The Last O.G,” produced by Jordan Peele. The series wrapped up its second season in the fall and will return this spring for its third season on TBS. She is also currently the host of the reboot of the popular television series “Kids Say the Darndest Things” on ABC.
Last December, the 41-year-old comedian released her latest stand-up special on Netflix, “Black Mitzvah.” The special begins with a musical performance in which she sings along to “Hava Nagila,” the traditional song danced to at Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. She started the set by making fun of herself by telling stories of failed past shows including the notorious She Ready debut in Miami on New Year’s Eve 2018. The actress confesses to making the wrong decision to stay out drinking the night before and then shares a video of herself waking up that morning so flustered she couldn’t remember how to speak properly.
Throughout the special, Haddish also tells relatable stories and exuded positive energy. For example, she tells the audience about the time Oprah called her and she nearly cried. She then discusses what it was like to live in her car and have family and friends only become interested in her life once she got money. Haddish concludes by performing her version of a “lazy stripper dance” for the audience.
If “Black Mitzvah” is any indication of what Tiffany Haddish is like on stage, then I have no doubt that each She Ready tour date will be a night filled with more memorable stories, jokes and bad dancing. Tiffany Haddish is a great comedian because she is undeniably herself and is willing to share her whole life with the audience. She can find a way to relate to any audience and always arrives on stage energized and excited to perform. Tiffany Haddish’s newly polished She Ready set is sure to be a marvelous display of her unhindered sense of humor and remarkable talent for entertaining. If you get the opportunity, don’t miss the chance to see one of the greatest comics of this generation perform live.
So far the upcoming dates and locations for the tour this spring only include Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Feb. 27, Feb. 28 in Atlantic City, New Jersey and Feb. 29 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Although only these few dates have been released so far, Haddish will most likely be adding more shortly, so be sure to keep that in mind. To purchase tickets or get more information on Tiffany Haddish’s She Ready tour, visit tiffanyhaddish.com.
