Morgan Murphy: Irish Goodbye (TV Special 2014)

Morgan Murphy: Irish Goodbye: Directed by Jay Chapman. With Morgan Murphy, Brody Stevens. Morgan Murphy brings dry and self-deprecating wit to the stage for this hilarious, gin-soaked special. Murphy’s first target is always herself, but won’t hesitate to bring down everyone from Planned Parenthood to teenage sexters.

“Murphyu0026#39;s primary occupation of comedy-writing and not stand-up comedian becomes apparent quickly as she flutters from subject to subject tossing out what sound like idea pitches rather than full- formed jokes. Some of these are actually funny but the ratio of hits to misses suggests someone who relies on a staff to separate wheat from chaff. She adheres closely to the write-what-you-know advice never venturing far from topics one would expect from a single women who writes jokes for a living. While none of the material feels u0026quot;jokeyu0026quot; or forced, it does make for something of a struggle to fill out the full hour without retreading the same thematic material. The material varies in a very narrow range from mostly dark (call it a medium charcoal gray) to some jokes about abortion that the audience observably felt uncomfortable with. Sheu0026#39;s not quite Sarah Silverman but they wouldnu0026#39;t been incongruous on a double-bill. In short, some select decent material delivered passably well.”