KATE BERLANT

"Do you guys steal?" a woman asks nonchalantly, sauntering around a lit stage. She's got big hair and bright lipstick, but she's not playing the part of sexed-up vixen. She's not trying to be a buddy-buddy

Last night, comedian and artiste Kate Berlant performed on the Comedy Central show The Meltdown with Jonah & Kumail. Her standup set—like all of her standup sets—served as an excellent reminder that we are living in a great time for creative, weird, intelligent, and subversive comedy.

The native Angeleno has been called a lot of names, including “an absurdist” and “an avant-garde theater artist,” since she started doing standup at 17. “It’s all flattering, but I definitely ident...