brownstein: jackie fabulous lives up to her name in jfl’s culture show

the name is fabulous. jackie fabulous.and she more than lived up to her name wednesday night at club soda in the debut presentation of just for laughs’ ethnic-oriented culture show, running until july 21. sandwiched between five other standups on stage, fabulous crushed it and brought the house down with a 20-minute shtick that tackled everything from dieting to dating advice to divorce to posing for facebook photos properly.“men with missing teeth! stop smiling on camera! you have no reason to smile! life has not been that good to you!” barks fabulous, cast as the american on the culture series.between the last time she did jfl about a decade back and now, she got married and got divorced. she concedes she’s had little luck on sites and has been considering dating across racial lines. she tried to acclimatize herself: “so i started watching everything you guys like … seinfeld and frasier and listening to coldplay, and it didn’t make a difference.”that was a little perplexing to her, considering she felt she had developed the appropriate food choices: “steak with no vegetables made me feel like john goodman.”fabulous has something that can’t be taught: fabulous stage presence. she goes out and commands the stage. she has bravado. her delivery is impeccable. and audiences take heed.no surprise that she was a semifinalist on america’s got talent in 2019. or that she was named one of variety’s top 10 comics to watch in 2024. or that she has done jimmy fallon’s late-night show four times plus that damn michael che. but big surprise that although her special you can leave is streaming on hulu, she hasn’t been inundated with similar offers from hbo, netflix or prime.but this could be her year. in addition to the culture series, she will be doing several other jfl gigs, including the atsuko okatsuka-hosted gala on july 24 at théâtre maisonneuve, opening the maria bamford show on july 21 at the td studio, appearing the same night at the kickback comedy party at café cléopâtre and doing best of the fest on july 22 at théàtre ste-catherine.the fabulous story is quite unlike that of most other comics.she concedes it requires some sort of chutzpah to take on the jackie fabulous moniker.

“i got the name from gay men … i had a lot of gay men come see me when i first started standup and they kept calling me ‘fabulous,’” she says following the culture show at the montreal pool room, a few doors down from club soda on the lower main. “my real name is too hard, too long and no one remembers it. it’s a nightmare. no one knows how to spell it or pronounce it.“but here they might. it’s kind of french.”her birth name is jacqueline jeannette champagnie. and she will be long remembered by those who catch her, no matter the name. she says jackie works well for her offstage.“i’ve had seven lives since i was here last,” says jackie, born and raised in the bronx to jamaican parents and living again in new york “because i need to be back home with my elderly family.”she doesn’t shy away from sharing her life (lives) on stage. her act is all based on experiences.“it’s easier to come up with that material, because it’s real and honest and, better still, everyone in the audience seems to go: ‘i agree with her.’”she is set to mark her 20^th year in comedy next month. regardless, she’s a late starter in the biz.“this is not what i wanted to do. i wanted to be an attorney when i was younger,” notes the 54-year-old jackie. “i have a law degree, but i didn’t go in that direction, because i don’t like jobs where i have to be cooped up in an office in front of a computer all day.“i decided i wanted to talk to people for a living. i’m also a motivational speaker, so i kind of feel a duty not to be a pussy on stage. but comedy is what pays the bills. the goal now is worldwide domination … as a comedian,” cracks jackie, who admits that richard pryor is the only comic with whom she has been obsessed but says she has a fondness for wanda sykes.she’s not keen on discoursing on the donald these days.“i’ve done political material, but most people just want a break from that these days. in america, whether they’re supporters or not of trump, they hear it all day. we’re all perplexed, but people come to shows to forget and relax.”  jackie has no illusions about the comedy trade. she is much aware that it’s male-dominated, white-dominated and ageist.“i’m usually the only woman on stage in many shows. but what else am i going to do? i’ve had every other job in the world. i’ve taught. i’ve worked at law firms. i’ve done non-profits. i’m doing motivational speaking. but i’ve realized that comedy is what i’m good at.“i’ve had tv show development deals. and that’s part of the business. a lot of us have had deals that have come to fruition or haven’t. i’m not bitter. i’ve had friends who’ve pitched hundreds of shows and none of them have been made. i’m trying to put together my own special on youtube now. that is the nature of the business. you either give up or die doing it.“i’m going to die doing it.”jackie fabulous can be caught in the culture series, friday to sunday at club soda at 7 p.m.; tuesday at 9:30 p.m. at the td studio. she can also be seen in the atsuko okatsuka-hosted gala on july 24 at théâtre maisonneuve, opening the maria bamford show on july 21 at the td studio, appearing the same night at the kickback comedy party at café cléopâtre and doing best of the fest on july 22 at théàtre ste-catherine. for tickets and complete jfl info, visit hahaha.combbrownstein@postmedia.com