Portland had to do Robby Hoffman a favor. On the cusp of shooting her first Netflix special, the comedian ( Hacks , Dying for Sex ) needed to work out some jokes at her sold-out Oct. 15 standup gig at the Aladdin Theater.

So instead of doing the scheduled hourlong set, the standup comic, actress and television writer did about 80 minutes to see how a live audience would respond to some new jokes. Verdict: Once it’s whittled back down to an hour, that special is going to be a hilarious and edgy set from one of the most original and exciting comics working today.

Her comedic persona’s perpetual status is “exasperated”—much like another bespectacled Jewish comedian from New York that she is often compared to, Larry David. She is out on the idea of people being queer rather than gay, out

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