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She has a cult like following because of her consistently hilarious characters in films such as Borat, Think Like A Man, Hotel Transylvania and Taken 2. Despite featuring in three blockbuster films last year she knows you probably don’t know her name. “When people see me and ask for an autograph, “says Luenell, “they often will have absolutely no idea what my name is but they have seen all my work.” Her scene in the 2006 Borat movie as a prostitute invited to a formal Southern dinner was all anyone talked about after the movie came out.

There’s also that unforgettable gravelly voice and bombshell blonde cropped hair. Once you see Luenell on screen you never forget her. But Luenell says female comedians are second class citizens on the comedy circuit because there are just not enough of them out there.

That’s a sentiment event organizer and comedienne Maliaka Bryce echoes. “This is the second annual Toronto Urban Queens of Comedy Show and I think it’s important to keep doing it, to keep creating opportunities for Black female comics to perform because this is still very much a male dominated industry,” says Bryce. “We are funny, sexy and smart. We have something to say, so why can’t we make a living off this like the men are doing?”.

The show features Toronto’s reigning Queens of Comedy:

The Ja’faken funny girl, Maliaka Bryce
Brampton’s award-winning comedian Keesha Brownie,
The Indian Goddess and internationally acclaimed Crystal Ferrier
The West Ends’ “IT Girl” Zabrina Chevannes

Bryce says there’s an interesting dynamic because while each woman supports the other… helping with jokes and delivery techniques… the lack of opportunities for Black comics creates an underlying tension that is hard to ignore. “If a promoter is going to book a woman on a comedy show, they’re only booking one. So you know it’s either me… or one of the other few girls doing comedy in Toronto,” says Bryce.

In this light, a female dominated showcase is a breath of fresh air. It’s likely the only place comedy fans will get to see Toronto’s top female comics on the same night; topped off by the headline act Luenell, aka “The Original Bad Girl of Comedy”, performing in Canada for the first time.

Great Canadian Laugh-Off finalist Trixx will be the host for the night.

The 2nd Annual Toronto Urban Queens of Comedy is sponsored in part by ByBlacks.com Caribbean Vibrations TV, 404 Media Group, Studio Voila, Niche Limos, Essence Hair Studio and Droppin’ Dimez Radio (of CHRY 105.5FM).

This stellar showcase takes place on Sunday, October 6, 2013 at the Ajax Convention Center with room for over 1000 people.