As funny over the phone as he is on stage, Brian Regan takes observational humor back to its roots with quick jabs at ordinary things that make them extraordinary.
His performance will be part of the recent influx of headline comedians to come into Madison in the next month. On April 1, he will be performing at the Orpheum. Even though he performed in Madison in 2014, there’s no need to worry — his acts tend to change.
The Floridian comedian has been performing his observational humor for more than 30 years now, and his material has developed along the way.
“The act kind of gradually turns over,” Regan said. “So if somebody saw me the last time through, hopefully a lot of the stuff I’m doing will be different. I keep turning it over and turning it over — like an omelet.”
Regan’s style strays away from obscenities and vulgarities. Some of his more recent and famous work consists of an emergency room experience and checking in at a hotel — comedy that can relate to a wide range of audiences.
In another analogy to his comedy, Regan described selecting team members as a captain and wanting to “pick all the cool kids.” But for Regan, the “cool kids” are his bits. His writing process as a whole is an interesting facet.
“Occasionally, you will experience something, you’ll read something, or you’ll see something that strikes you as a little bit different than it might strike other people,” Regan said. “You might see the funny in it, and you’ll take those opportunities as they come. Maybe you will write them down and say, ‘Maybe I can turn this into a bit.'”
Regan values his comedic expansion, and compared it to a band showcasing growth through various albums — an aspect that Regan believes should apply to comedians as well.
And though Regan makes sure to switch things up in general as his career has moved forward, he also correlates changing his act with the changing world. Previously he didn’t bring topics like politics and religion into his comedy, but now they are subjects that are prevalent in his acts.
Despite this, Regan’s comedy is not defined as “political comedy.” Change is important to Regan, but mainly focusing on politics, religion and the like will not become a dominating force in his act. For him, the search for material opportunity is endless.
“Not that [politics and religion] would ever be my whole act, but I do want to be a moving target,” he said. “I’m answering everything in metaphors. I just have a book of metaphors in front of me and an oscillating fan blowing the pages back and forth. Whatever page it lands on, I just read that metaphor — and pretend that it is part of the answer.”
Unknowingly, Regan answered various questions in metaphors throughout the interview. Upon realizing, he shared a laugh.
But the fact he subconsciously did so, both through standard responses and attempts to crack a joke, he demonstrated his effortless humor — the mark of a talented comedian.
