gravitas ˈgra-və-ˌtäs , -ˌtas noun
: formality in bearing and appearance
_________
The word gravitas has appeared in 70 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Jan. 31 in the On Comedy column “Instead of Killer Punchlines, Killer Choruses” by Jason Zinoman:
Cohen is part of a resurgence of young comics making jokes you can hum, the latest to join a long tradition that includes stars from Steve Martin to Weird Al Yankovic. These days, comics are singing almost every night of the week at intimate spaces like Union Hall, Caveat and Club Cumming, packed with the kind of 20-something audiences that New York theater has long courted (mostly unsuccessfully).
… While Cohen’s act is more like a musical that breaks into song when the characters need to express something more emotional, Owens is at his best when he quickly jumps right into a song. Of all the comedians who sing, he has the most virtuosic voice, a powerful, nimble instrument that can inject a cover of the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” theme with an ominous intensity or imbue a ballad to Oprah Winfrey with the kind of gravitas that could make you weep.
_________
