Lines snaked around both sides of V Street Sunday night as the 9:30 Club packed in a capacity crowd to see Sarah Silverman headline The Bentzen Ball’s closing show.
The Bentzen Ball, a four-day comedy festival fundraiser for Walter Reed Hospital, featured more than 60 comedians playing at venues along the U Street corridor. The lineup was a mix of upstart performers and big comedy names, including Patton Oswalt, Silverman and Mary Lynn Rajksub (of “24” fame). Even non-comedians were encouraged to participate during a free open-mic session at Ben’s Chili Bowl Thursday night.
At the finale, Silverman performed with several contributors to her eponymous Comedy Central program. Among them were Steve Agee, her sister Laura Silverman, show writer Chelsea Peretti and Tig Notaro, the festival’s creator.
While each comedian was a stand-up veteran, some feigned surprise at playing for such a large crowd. Agee even asked to have the house lights raised so he could take a picture of the audience for his Twitter account.
The comics showcased their individual talents throughout the night. Laura Silverman offered the cleanest performance, but her haiku humor – “Three in the morning/Refrigerator humming/Must not know the words” – balanced her sister’s racier gangbang gags. Peretti’s routine was a more personal one; she talked about bad relationship experiences and generally portrayed herself as a woman pursued by unworthy suitors. Agee regaled the crowd with tales of how he once weighed his testicles with a kitchen scale.
Notaro closed the evening with a two-part set. At first she played reporter to Sarah Silverman’s ambivalent anchor in a Q&A session with the audience, which was marred by questioners’ unfortunate attempts at being funny. Her solo stand-up made up for it, with a deadpan delivery that must be heard to be fully appreciated. She found comedy gold in everything from holding microphone stands to being assaulted by muggers. Overall, she was the strongest performer of the night, outshining even the headliner and giving The Bentzen Ball a solid ending.
