My features for Vanity Fair's Hollywood section include an oral history of The Comedy Cellar and intimate profiles of Patton Oswalt, Jim Gaffigan, Tig Notaro and more.
Just after 11 p.m. at the Upright Citizens Brigade’s Chelsea theater, 15 performers crowded the stage, the tone solemn and ceremonial. One man wore a garbage bag and no shoes; another, a black turtleneck and demonic eyeliner. A third held an unboxed...