It’s an impressive feat to make an audience of thousands feel as if they were in an intimate comedy club, a feat few comedians are able to pull off.
But Brian Regan managed to do just that this past Saturday at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
From the very beginning, his signature, easy-going comedic style was on display. He strolled around the stage as easily as if he were in his living room, talking to the audience members as if he were speaking to a few close friends about his humorous observations of daily life. Regan’s first joke, about not knowing what day it was, and that he probably should have consulted a calendar before coming out, got the crowd laughing and then they didn’t stop.
His jokes about the silliness and humor inherent in daily life are what makes his segments so identifiable. For example, one of his sections was about being at a hotel and putting up a “do not disturb” sign, only to be disrupted by a member of hotel staff who somehow thought the room was empty. The staff member then intrudes once more to show him a list that indicates that the room was supposed to be empty.
This may not seem so funny on paper, but Regan’s comedic skill lies in his ability to play up the comedic drama of the events by reenacting it on stage, using perfect timing and effectively changing his voice to convey different roles. The physicality of his act was most on display when he was imitating the confident stroll of an airline pilot in one of his segments where the man was running through the airport yelling, “Where is my gate!”
Regan also isn’t afraid to go off-script and speak directly to the audience — and then laugh at himself when he makes a mistake in these segments. He admitted to the audience that he isn’t very good at making comedic transitions, a conversation he used to launch into a completely different bit.
His unique style is perhaps why thousands of fans were more than willing to shell out top dollar to hear Regan talk about his life. The very enthusiastic reaction of the audience to Regan’s performance means there may need to be a bigger venue the next time he visits Salt Lake City.
@wyldmayan