Not long ago, stand-up comedian Cameron Esposito was a ringmaster for El Circo Cheapo Cabaret. Traveling the country, covering her lips in glitter and working rigorously to create her own brand alongside extravagant performers with pumped-up biceps wrapped in a plethora of tattoos. That was Esposito's gorgeous, peculiar life.
Fast forward just a few years and Esposito's stand-up comedy album, "Same Sex Symbol," sits atop the iTunes charts at No. 1.
"Chicago taught me that DIY mentality," said Esposito, who lived in Logan Square for six years. "No other place offers as much stage time. And we're talking really quality stage time with big audiences truly engaged in the arts."
Esposito's look-and swagger-is unmatched in the comedy world. There's her signature hairstyle--floppy, Jim Halpert-style on top, with one side long enough to rest on her right shoulder-that she has famously called "the side mullet." Donning preppy vests, neckties or fresh denim jackets and a smile that could electrocute a room, she oozes confidence with every word spoken into the microphone.
But this firecracker will tell you firsthand: not everyone cherishes her individuality.
"What's amazing about stand up is that you can adjust in the room," she said. "When someone heckles me, you can win by getting the rest of the audience to agree with you. But on the Internet? It's faceless. There is no amount of conversation that will ever be helpful."
Esposito has blocked negative accounts from contacting her further on social media, but she cannot help but humanize their comments in her mind.
"I always wonder what's going on in their life," she said with a laugh. "I think, 'Are you OK?' I want to send them all a pie and tell them to watch three movies to learn better."
Of course Esposito was riffing, but when asked what three movies she might send an Internet troll's way, she didn't skip a beat.
"'Terminator 2,' obviously. Classic, great CGI elements," she said. "'Girls Just Want To Have Fun.' You won't believe the chemistry Helen Hunt and Sarah Jessica Parker have. And something really sad, like 'Fried Green Tomatoes' or 'Terms of Endearment,' to remind them, 'Hey, some people were lesbians in the south in the '50s', or whenever that was."
It's that quick-witted, sanguine wit that brings Esposito back to Lincoln Hall, headlining a pair of shows at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, the second show added after the first quickly sold out.
She's excited to return to the city that jump-started her career, but mortified about the "devastating news" that Hot Doug's closed earlier this month.
"I could feel the city's depression from Los Angeles," she said. "My sausage sensors were activated. And for that reason only because, let's be honest, I'm a giant lesbian."
And even harder to deal with? Esposito is "currently a vegetarian," so she can't even drown her sorrows in her favorite Chicago staple, an Italian beef sandwich, she said. "Let's see if my vegetarianism holds up."
For tickets ($15) to Esposito's 9:30 p.m. show at Lincoln Hall (2424 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-525-2501), visit lincolnhallchicago.com.
sely@tribune.com | @theseanwow