COMEDY253 PRESENTS: STUPIDITY AT THE STONEGATE

A group of Tacoma comedians, uniting under the banner of Comedy253, is successfully working to draw Seattle audiences south with a combination of pizza, glass, and jokes. Tonight's standup show, set in a pizza parlor, features comic veteran James Heneghan, among others, and the troupe has commissioned a local glass artist to give away door prizes. Thus far, it's been a winning combination: "We had over 100 people at the last show and we are expecting to get an even larger crowd on the 25th," says Comedy253 spokesman Justin Hayes. Stonegate Pizza and Rum Bar, 5421 S Tacoma Way, 8 pm, $10.

JOAN RIVERS

Save the misogynist old-lady jokes, the plastic-surgery jokes—Joan Rivers can rip on anything, including herself, better than anyone in the room. She's professionally, unapologetically grating, and she's done her goddamn best to brick-lay the road for funny women in America for the past half century. She's shocking, hilarious, and an expert at using humor to mock the disparities women face in life. "A man can sleep around, no questions asked. But if a woman makes 19 or 20 mistakes, she's a tramp," Rivers says in one set. "I spit on education," she jokes in another, "No man will ever put his hand up your dress looking for a library card." Watch the 2010 documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work before you see her live. You won't regret it. Benaroya Hall, 8 pm, $29–$55.