Make 'Em Laugh: Comedienne Bares Her Soul, Returns to Her Roots

In the all-or-nothing world of stand-up comedy routines, sure things are easy to come by. Go see act X and hear humorous insights on married life. Go see act Y and hear droll contrasts between the sexes. With Lizzie Dunn, however, one receives anything but a standard fare of entertainment.

A former childhood resident of Rumford, Lizzie Dunn finally heeded urgings from friends to lend her vivacious personality to performing for a live audience. Her Saturday evening performance at on Waterman Avenue showed no signs of an amateur finding her feet, proving her friends' assessment of her talent correct.

Dunn reflected warmly on her time in southeastern New England and was quick to point out that the Rumford house was “not like other New England homes where the sister’s in the attic or something.” Her time in East Providence was used as fodder for one of the most hilarious moments of the event, one that circled around childhood naiveté with things going bump in the night, as she confused her Great Aunt with a witch trying to transport her to Purgatory.

Saturday evening’s performance took place before a full house of roughly 60-plus people and was one of the few times Dunn had performed in front of a live audience. With the scent of dry incense in a back room of the shop, the site of a table used for Reiki treatments and a tenor of healing promoted by owner , it was hard to ignore that fate, or at least appropriateness, had matched venue with the evening’s main attraction.

So much of what Dunn covered in her routine hinged just-as-much on personal growth and overcoming obstacles as it did with being funny. Though an admitted novice, Dunn perfectly balanced the subject matter of her act in a way typically absent from an up-and-coming performer. Moving from explaining her brain surgery to waiting on the elderly, hospitalization to lighthearted family fodder, Dunn walked the line between ruthless honesty and up-tempo banter with ease. 

In one such instance, Dunn recalled a past hospitalization, in which she joked about the conditions, as well as the circumstances which produced it. It ended with Dunn recounting her observations of mistreatment of her fellow patients by the staff, and her brave confrontation to address it. The bit stretched slowly, until finally dissenting into seriousness and heartache, as Dunn stared at the floor almost reliving the experience.

To an outsider, the segue into darker material may seem out-of-place in the realm of comedy. Her audience, however, clearly found it a perfect fit. As the night pressed on, it became clear that Dunn’s following was after much more than a night of knee-slapping. Although, make no mistake about it, Dunn is able to, and does, deliver just that. However, her ability to unapologetically reconcile brutal reality while humorously capitalizing on its absurdity is arguably what filled the house for her second go at stand-up. In short, Dunn delivers the entire cannon of the human experience: joy; irony; laughter; sadness; silliness; and pain. 

Dottie Souza not only finds Dunn’s balance between humor and honesty a perfect fit for a good comedy show, but a good fit for her business, as well. Souza is committed to providing a “safe space” where people can explore themselves emotionally and spiritually through various services and products offered. Three months prior, Souza had booked Dunn when a mutual friend recommended her. Dunn’s debut at Positive New Beginnings complemented the business’ ethos so well that she became an instant friend of Dottie’s and plans to do more shows in the future.

Souza spoke to what she feels Dunn’s performances have added to the mission of her business.

“[Laughter] raises your vibration, it makes you feel better,” she said.

“When you feel better, everyone else around you feels better. It’s like a pebble in the water.”

There was plenty of vibrating going, as the space’s left back room, typically used for expositions and group exercises, was packed with chairs full of people laughing on Dunn’s every word. The former Rumford resident who regards Fox News as “tough on stains” (according to Dunn, it’s the only thing able to get her angry enough to clean her home), held court in a way that had Souza approvingly looking on from stage left, happy to see so many people genuinely succumbing to positive energy.

One person feeling the good vibes was Jeanne Mullaney of Riverside. A friend of Dunn’s, Mullaney commented on her experiences of seeing her twice.

“She genuinely is funny, witty, and intelligent and knows a lot about a lot of different subjects,” Mullaney said. “It’s a just a gift for someone to be able to spin that off in a funny way.”

Mullaney also spoke about the potential impact of the diverse crowd on the city of East Providence.

“I think [her show] adds a lot, because it’s brought people from all around the state, from New York, some from Florida and it opens them up to it and exposes them to us in a way that they may not otherwise know,” she said. “A lot of people know about the capital city, but not much about East Providence. This is good, wholesome, solid fun.”

Dunn herself had glowing things to say about the home of Townie Pride, recanting after her show about what the city means to her.

“I loved East Providence. I grew up in Rumford. We moved her when I was 6 years old,” Dunn said. “I lived in Miami in South Beach for 30 years, and this is where I wanted to come back. I always considered this home.”

After leaving South Beach in 1999, Dunn made her way back north. Short of a benefit show for a gay rights organization, she only recently began honing her act for an audience at the East Providence shop. Dunn was not aloof to the full-circle nature of her return to East Providence or the type of venue that she eventually landed in.

“It’ safer,” Dunn said referring to the Waterman Avenue space. “It’s Dottie … The minute I met her I knew she’s a good one.”

When asked about whether she would be back in East Providence for another show, Dunn answered “absolutely.”