Comedians to see on tour this summer

Need a laugh — and, truly, who doesn't these days? Well, take a load off this summer by attending a comedy show. You could reminisce about the seeming innocence of the '80s and '90s with Weird Al, an icon of those decades. You could hark back to the comparative good vibes of the '00s with Marlon Wayans, the star of classic flicks from that era, "White Chicks" and "Scary Movie." Or you could try your best to enjoy the here and now with the strange musings of Kate Berlant.

Kate Berlant

Actor-comedian Kate Berlant rose to fame following her collaboration with John Early on the A24/Peacock comedy special "Would It Kill You to Laugh?" and has spent the last few years performing "Kate," an experimental one-woman-show directed by Bo Burnham that received near–universal acclaim. "Impatient, stylized, cerebral, Berlant's comedy has never been for all markets," said Alexis Soloski at The New York Times. Berlant is a "thinking woman's comic. To put it a little more precisely, she is a comic for all the girls out there who think too much." ("Kate Berlant Live!," now through July 25)

Fiona Cauley

Nashville native Fiona Cauley has muscular dystrophy, and she's not afraid to tell you about it. The 27-year-old was walking normally in high school, using a cane by college and is now permanently wheelchair-bound due to Friedreich's ataxia — a diagnosis that is broached frequently in her stand-up. In an industry still predominantly composed of men, a disabled female comic offers a necessary perspective. "If you've ever wanted to laugh at a person in a wheelchair," reads Cauley's website, "here's your chance." ("Fiona Cauley Live," now through December)

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Nikki Glaser

Earlier this year, Nikki Glaser became the first woman to host the Golden Globes solo. She turned out to be the right person for a job perhaps most memorably done by the mischievous Ricky Gervais. Glaser, like Gervais, has a triumphant history of celebrity roasting. "It's funny that given Glaser's talent for publicly skewering people, her likability seems rather important to her," said Gracie Hadland at The Cut. Despite a sharp tongue, "she's wary of alienating people." ("Nikki Glaser: Alive And Unwell Tour," now through October)

Pete Holmes

Pete Holmes' comedy "springs from a number of frictions," said Nick A. Zaino at The Boston Globe. He has "acknowledged that he looks like he should be a youth pastor playing guitar for a rec hall full of teenagers" — not far-fetched, given that he was raised in an evangelical Christian family. But he also tells bawdy jokes "about sex and bodily functions." Holmes' material "reflects deep spiritual and intellectual questions about the nature of religious beliefs," topics he explores further on his existential podcast, "You Made It Weird." ("Pete Here Now," June 12-November)

Marlon Wayans

In Marlon Wayans' span of aughts comedy blockbusters, he was silly and unafraid to play the fool. But the actor-comedian has done a lot of growing since then. He recently posted on social media in support of Kai, his trans son, and told BET about his previous lack of support for his kid's transition and his newfound appreciation for the LGBTQ+ community. "I look back on those actions and I'm ashamed."

Still, Wayans hasn't lost all the goofy of old; the description for his current tour pledges, rather ominously, "You'll laugh (a lot)…you'll cry (maybe a little)…you might even piss (sh#t) your pants!" ("Wild Child Tour," June 12-December)

'Weird Al' Yankovic

Best known for his irreverent music parodies, unruly hair and interminable Hawaiian shirt collection, Weird Al is now 65 (feel old yet?) and about to begin his "fastest-­selling, biggest-grossing tour yet," said Billboard. The concert includes an eight-piece band and promises to be "part rock show, part revival tent, part Broadway musical, all 'joy bomb,'" said actor and Yankovic fan Andy Samberg to the outlet. The five-time Grammy winner is set to sing all his iconic hits, plus some never-performed-live-before fan favorites. ("Bigger and Weirder Tour," June 13-Sept. 25)