STORY BY MORGAN GSTALTER
The Des Moines Social Club will host “Galentine’s Day” on Feb. 13 in the Basement Bar at 9 p.m.
Galentine’s Day is an all female lineup comedy show, hosted by Cupid himself. The show features seven stand-up comics coming from Des Moines, Chicago and Omaha.
Tickets are $8, presale or at the door, and the show is open to the public.
“Des Moines will get a sense that comedy performed by women comedians is really good,” said Madeline Russell, one of the comics performing on Galentine’s Day. “It’s not all bra straps and kale chips.”
Russell described how comedy is a very male-dominated art form and how this female line-up is a unique event for Des Moines.
“Female comedians have a very distinct voice and I think this will give people a fresh perspective,” Russell said. “These women are all on the cusp right now.”
Russell has been performing stand-up for a year while balancing her job as an art manager.
With a background in theater, she liked still being able to perform regularly for an audience without having a strict rehearsal schedule.
“Valentine’s Day is actually my favorite holiday,” Russell said. “From Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, Iowa can be a cold, barren place to be. A glitter bomb goes off on Valentine’s Day.”
Although the event is held at the Des Moines Social Club’s Basement Bar, all ages are welcome.
“Even though it’s Valentine’s Day, there’s no assigned genre,” Russell said. “It’s not going to be all about love or romance. It’s not a couple’s event. It’s open to all genders and ages.”
First-year neuroscience student Sara Hillring has never gone to comedy event but is looking forward to seeing stand-up as a member of the audience.
“I guess I have limited experience with actual comedy acts,” Hillring said. “I look at really famous female comedians like Tina Fey or Amy Poehler that everybody knows and I think those women are hilarious. But they’re also really famous. Everybody knows them. These women in this show aren’t huge stars yet, but I know I’ll love it. I’m not very funny myself so I really want to go.”
The term “Galentine’s Day” was coined by Amy Poehler in an episode of her NBC show “Parks and Recreation” in 2010.
Junior Lisa Beard is getting a group of her sorority sisters together to go see the show.
“I saw the event on Facebook and I really wanted to go,” Beard said. “I really love watching comedy shows like the ones on Netflix and they just uploaded one of the only ones about women comics called ‘Women Aren’t Funny.’ I think female comedians have to work a lot harder than male comedians because they have to out-do this stereotype that they just aren’t as funny. I also want to see my friend Rachel [Weeks] perform. She’s a Drake graduate.”
