Sarah Silverman's New Stand-Up Show Goes Where She’s Never Gone Before

She's got one of the raunchiest comedy acts in the business, but there's still one subject Sarah Silverman hasn't touched despite years in the industry: death.

For her new stand-up tour, "Postmortem," Silverman is traveling the country sorting out her humorous, dark, and complex feelings around grief and loss. The comedian and actress — who brings her 30-city tour to the Fillmore Miami Beach this Saturday — tragically lost her father and stepmother last spring, and only nine days apart from one another.

As she tells New Times over Zoom, it was one of the toughest moments she's ever experienced, but one worth exploring in front of the mic.

"It was really tough when I found out about [their deaths]," Silverman confesses. "Even when my birth mother passed away years ago, it's something that always stays with you. There's a quote I heard once that goes something like, 'There's two people in this world — those who've lost their mothers, and those who don't know what's coming.' And boy, is that true."

Silverman learned of her father and stepmother's deaths while on set for a forthcoming film. She told one of her co-stars she'd finish one last scene before wrapping and heading home, but her colleague refused, instead offering to drive her where she needed to go.

"She was just so sweet, being ready and willing to help me with that. And since that moment, [when] I found out about my dad and my stepmom, I kind of just fell head-first into talking about this stuff and using it in my set. It was all I could think about and all I could talk about. In fact, I think this is probably the fastest I've ever gotten into another tour special right after my last because there's just so much to explore within grief itself and what that means for me."

Grief and loss might seem like tame topics when compared to Silverman's most infamous material, which can be sexually forward or reflect her most unfiltered intrusive thoughts. But the stigma that surrounds discussions of grief — never mind the taboo of making light of the subject — falls right into her forte, namely being outwardly frank about embarrassing or uniquely human experiences.

Silverman says this exploration has defined her comedic voice. But when she looks back on her first-ever stand-up set in her hometown of Manchester, New Hampshire, it didn't look like her comedy career would go very far.

"I went up on stage at a restaurant that was near me, and everyone just completely booed me off the stage," she remembers. "Then, I went to work at that same restaurant as a waitress a little later, and it took them about two weeks before they were like, 'Wait a minute! You're the girl who bombed!'"

Still, she was always sure she belonged on the stage.

"This is probably a crazy thing to say, but almost like if someone's born gay, I was born knowing I wanted to be a comedian," she jokes. "I think I really started believing it in like third grade."

Silverman would go on to debut on Saturday Night Live in the early '90s, and her long list of acting credits includes Showtime drama Masters of Sex and films like Maestro, Battle of the Sexes, and, of course, Disney's Wreck-It Ralph, in which she played the beloved candy-coated Vanelope.

Having been a pioneer and figurehead for women who followed her in comedy, Silverman says she's just grateful that her openness has paved the way for riskier women and queer voices in the industry.

"I don't even really know if I've been all that helpful in this world, but there were so many women who opened the door for me, too — like Joan Rivers," she says. "I'm definitely guilty of having listened to guys early in my career because I was essentially going to a boy's club. And they would tell me to make jokes that appeal to guys because they're the ones who come out to comedy shows, and even if they bring dates, their dates don't laugh if they don't laugh. But now, it's beautiful to see how comedy has evolved for women and trans people and LGBTQ+ people since then, especially with people being so much more honest with themselves and their experiences online. Now, everyone can just be themselves on stage."

As she gets ready for her phone-free stand-up set in South Florida, New Times asks Silverman about her favorite Miami memory. She fondly recalls filming a skit for Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the Delano Hotel in South Beach, the Emmy-winning "Fucking Matt Damon," with the Good Will Hunting actor famously known to be Kimmel's arch-nemesis on the late-night show.

"We were running around all over this hotel — I think Damon was living down there at the time. And we just had a blast filming this big skit. I haven't been to Miami too much in my life, but that was definitely a funny moment that's lived with me for a bit."

Ironically enough, Silverman's partner, Rory Albanese, who opens the Fillmore show on Saturday night, is a writer for Kimmel's show. Many of his friends and family are based in South Florida and will be in attendance.

"I'm just so excited. I hope everybody who's interested comes out because this is really something I've been working on for so long, and I can't wait to see where the night takes us," Silverman adds. "And who knows, maybe you'll even learn something new about what it means to be human."

Sarah Silverman. 7 p.m. Saturday, January 11, at the Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-7300; fillmore-miami.com. Tickets cost $64 to $97.50 via livenation.com.