Fortune Feimster ‘Lives Laughs Loves’ In Greensboro (Review)

With Southern charm and impeccable timing, Fortune Feimster is the person you want sitting
next to you at every family reunion: a waggish storyteller with heart.

The mop-topped comedian, writer, actor recently made her first appearance in Greensboro,
North Carolina, at the 3,000-seat Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts with her current 100-city “Live Laugh Love” U.S. tour.

“We’ll hug at the end,” Feimster told the audience.

Feimster is immediately likable and disarming. The stage was empty except for a red Solo cup
atop a bar stool, but her style made it feel intimate and warm. A physical performer, Feimster
was constantly moving filling the space with ease. From the beginning she made it known that
audience participation was expected and encouraged, which set a mood consistent with her
improv and sketch comedy early work with The Groundlings in Los Angeles.

The stories flowed effortlessly.

Feimster, 43, started with the tale of her 2020 Maldives honeymoon with her wife, Jacquelyn
“Jax” Smith, where it is “illegal to be gay.” She told stories about travel mishaps, her bell choir
nemesis and her days at William Peace University in Raleigh, North Carolina, which was women-only at the time and she was president of the student body.

In the audience were sisters Tammy Kimey, 50, (class of ’92) and Tracey Baughn, 55, (class of
’88) wearing matching green and white Peace University T-shirts. It was the first time they had
seen their famous alumna in person.

“Gay or not, everyone can relate,” offered Baughn.

Unapologetic and self-aware, Feimster treats being her identity through the same lens she uses when talking about being a daughter or spouse.

“I think it is just who I am as a person,” she said after the show. “I’ve never considered myself
one thing. I’m not just gay. I’m not Southern. Just this or that. I consider myself many things.
I’m a daughter, a sister, a wife, a gay person, Southern. All that stuff encapsulates who I am.”

Embracing who she is central to creating a safe and welcoming environment for everyone in the audience.

“Because I’m talking about myself on stage, I’m telling stories I want everybody to be able to
relate to,” she offered. “There are some things obviously that will resonate with certain people
more than others but what I like is that I’m telling stories about life, about me and all these
different things that people can see themselves in – in a fun way that is positive and upbeat.”
Feimster is an affirming voice in places that don’t always embrace the LGBTIAQ+ community.

In 2016, North Carolina was the first state to pass a bill banning transgender people from using a bathroom consistent with their gender identity. There was a national outrage and Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, also known as House Bill 2, was repealed a year later.

But Feimster, who was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and raised in nearby Belmont
(population 15,000), doesn’t avoid hard topics or the haters. She makes them laugh and she
does it in their hometowns.

“Fortune’s comedy bridges the gap between her community and fans who may have never had a LGBTIAQ+ friend or family member,” said Judi Marmel, partner at Levity Live, which manages Feimster. “She does this by playfully highlighting all the absurd funny things we have in common, instead of focusing on our differences.”

Feimster celebrates the common ground but has experienced resistance on stage.

“You can see some of the arms crossed in the beginning,” Feimster explained. “Especially earlier on in my career when they were less familiar with me. And as you go, you can see the tension being released and the misconceptions are starting to melt away; and they are understanding who you are. And that you aren’t that much different than the next person.”

She does it not because it is easy, but because it makes a difference.

“What’s important is representation,” she explained. “I don’t want to shy away from these
places – red states or more conservative places. There are plenty of people there like me who
want to see themselves represented on stage. They want to hear stories they can relate to and
to shy away from those places because of politics or religion or whatever, you are taking that
away from the people there who needed that.”

Reaching people who need a voice was top of mind in Greensboro. Before the show, a 14-year-old and her dad were in the meet and greet line backstage.

“Her dad was beaming,” Feimster recalled after the show. “He said, ‘I just want to tell you that
my daughter just came out to us, two days ago.’ And he was like, ‘We are so proud of her.’ Oh,
my heart, that’s amazing. She started crying and he was just loving her.”

Feimster said she was holding back tears of her own.

“He felt so proud to tell me,” Feimster offered clearly touched by the encounter. “I’m trying to
spread that message, ‘Be who you are. Be proud of who you are.’ And to see a dad in the south, and he can’t wait to tell me about his daughter – we’ve come a long way in that regard to have that kind of response.”

“There is only one Fortune; she’s a generational talent who appeals to a multi-generational
audience,” said Adam Ginivisian, Feimster’s long-time agent and now manager. “Each performance is a curated experience crafted meticulously to bring the audience together from the minute they walk through the doors. Her inclusive and joyful brand of comedy is exactly what the world needs right now”

Feimster got her start as a writer and panelist on E’s “Chelsea Lately.” She was a series regular on “The Mindy Project” for Hulu, “Champions” and “Kenan” for NBC and as Dougie on CBS’s “Life In Pieces.” Her first Netflix comedy special “Sweet & Salty” was nominated for a Critic’s Choice Award and her second special, “Fortune Feimster: Good Fortune” is currently airing on the platform.

She recently wrapped filming “FUBAR” a Netflix action series with Arnold Schwarzenegger and
she can be heard each morning on Sirius XM with Tom Papa on Netflix’s “What a Joke with Papa and Fortune” radio show. She also hosts a weekly podcast “Sincerely Fortune” with her wife.

“The Live Laugh Love Tour” wraps on Dec. 2 in Louisville, Kentucky.

“We are opening minds through laughter,” she offered, while handing out Thin Mints Girl Scout
cookies sent as a gift from a local troop. “I just want people to have a good time because there
is so much negativity out there. So many ways to find it. I’m trying to offer a tiny break from
that.”

If you catch it, you are one of the Fortunate ones.