In her new show, Communist Dad, American comedian Candace Bryan tells the story of her unusual childhood in Memphis, Tennessee—from her absentee mom and banjo-playing Marxist father, to her time spent living in the projects and her conversion to Judaism at 9 years old.

It’s a rags-to-riches story that is both quintessentially American and quintessentially anti-American...and somehow all completely true.

Adding in stories about cocaine, mayonnaise, and other lethal substances, Candace concocts a playful takedown of society’s obsession with motherhood, the expectations of the nuclear family, and being a woman in 2023.