No taboo subjects, just laughs: Brian Regan comes to Brown County Music Center

At first, comedian Brian Regan used a few four-letter words in his acts. Now he uses none. Oh, he'll make fun of people, himself, the things we do while waiting for a doctor's appointment, but you can bring your kid or your great-grandmother to his shows without feeling icky.

"Why not be one hundred percent clean?" he asked himself.

He's coming to the Brown County Music Center April 26 and bringing along his style of observational comedy — as in "Hey, did you ever see someone?" He's also bringing his popular facial expressions and body language.

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1991 was Regan's first time on TV. Then came his first standup album, 1997's "Brian Regan: Live." He has appeared on talk shows such as The Dennis Miller Show, Late Show with David Letterman (28 times), Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

And his fans, both comedians and regular, are buying out tickets to his touring shows. Act soon if you want seats at Brown County's show. In 2014 he appeared in Chris Rock's comedy "Top Five," and starting in 2017, Regan starred in Peter Farrelly's "Loudermilk," a smart, stirring and dark comedy series on Amazon Prime. Twice, he has been on Jerry Seinfeld's show "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," and he has three Netflix comedy shows. In 2018, Seinfeld produced Regan's sketch comedy series "Standup and Away! with Brian Regan" for Netflix.

Jerry Seinfeld has described Regan as one of his top favorite standup comedians. Others who have touted him include Chris Rock, David Letterman and Norm Macdonald, all, like Regan, smart and funny.

"I can be incredibly unfunny off stage," Regan said over the phone. "I never tell (strangers) I’m a comedian."

Once, on a flight — and he always tries to avoid these kinds of conversations — the man in the next seat tried to make small talk by inquiring about Regan's line of work. When Regan replied "comedian," the man said, "Oh, I could do that."

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"He assumed I just made everything up on the spot."

Regan designs his material based on things he sees and said that comedians tend to view life as though looking in a funhouse mirror. His work method is meticulous and precise, and he writes down everything he does. (He also plays golf.)

"Comedy needs a sender and a receiver, like electricity."

It also needs editing. For a four-and a-half-minute segment, Regan works several months organizing and rewriting.

Maybe that's why the David Letterman show has invited Regan to appear 28 times.

If you go

WHAT: Brian Regan, clean standup comedianWHEN: 7:30 p.m. April 26WHERE: Brown County Music Center, 200 Maple Leaf Blvd., NashvilleTICKETS: Selling quickly at $57-$149+ at https://bit.ly/3MImrZL

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Brian Regan shares his brand of comedy at Brown County Music Center