A delightful coming-of-age story about a Jewish woman in post-WWII Chicago breaking boundaries, finding her voice, and healing her and her family's trauma through laughter.While men were fighting WWII, comedy clubs opened their doors to female comedians and female-only audiences. At Chicago's Blue Moon, something truly magical was invented: the Showstopper.A Showstopper is the magic sparked when an audience laughs so hard they are momentarily transformed. Every comedian's Showstopper is different: one makes you feel like you can fly, another makes you feel like a Hollywood starlet. Showstoppers are shrouded in mystery, passed along by word of mouth, and only work on women.Franny Steinberg experiences her first Showstopper in 1944, after sneaking into a famous Black comedian's show. Seven years later, after making a scene at her friend's wedding, Franny runs away in a torn bridesmaid dress and ends up on stage. But when Franny finally conjures a Showstopper, there's a huge problem: it only works on men.Specifically, Franny's Showstopper heals men's pain. Franny decides she must cure her brother, now a veteran struggling with PTSD, with her comedy. But first she'll need to summon the courage to find humour in her darkest traumas.
