Stand-Up Comedy

Stand-up comedy is a solo performance form in which a comedian addresses an audience directly with a prepared sequence of jokes, stories and observations, without characters, props or a fourth wall. Its modern form crystallized in American vaudeville and the Borscht Belt, but the genre's recorded canon begins with the comedy LP era of the late 1950s, when nightclub sets by Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce and Bob Newhart became bestselling albums. Stand-up records document the form's evolution from one-liner gag craft through confessional storytelling to long-form, thematic specials recorded in theaters and arenas.