If anyone has seen Marsha Warfield’s El Dorado, please let her know. The beloved ride, purchased as a gift to herself upon landing Night Court, is (sadly) no longer in her possession. She misses it, but that was then, this is now, and she’s too busy burning up the comeback trail to be looking in her rearview mirror.
She’s been gone a minute—15 to 20 years depending on how you count. We are excited to report that it was worth the wait. Marsha Warfield is back, and the world is a better place for it. Praise Shesus!
Warfield deliberately stepped out of the spotlight after her career-defining turn as stone-faced, yet deeply sensitive bailiff Roz, but life finds a way when comedy is in your DNA. She went back to her stand-up roots, hitting the clubs and open mic nights with a vengeance. A self-described philosopher-comedian and sworn enemy of “McComedy,” Marsha 2.0 is not fooling around.
Last May she unveiled her new one-woman show, The Book of Marsha, at the Netflix Is a Joke Festival, and she appears alongside fellow legend Wanda Sykes in Stand Out (also Netflix), a touching and uproarious documentary with performances by the all-stars of LGBTQIA+ comedy. Whoever said there are no second acts in life was an idiot.
And range? Oh, my God, does she have range. As Aisha Hinds’ mother on the Fox first-responder dramedy 9-1-1, Warfield deftly demonstrates her capacity for emotional depth by tapping into the raw uncertainty of a world in turmoil. How does she do it? She keeps it simple and authentic. Her block list may be long, but who has time for BS when you’re busy being the best?