Comedy Off Broadway lands their biggest act since reopening. Will the laughs be safe?

Stand-up comedian Brian Regan has built a successful career by finding the humor from observing the world around him. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of that world came to a screeching halt, along with his outlets for comedy.

“My comedy smokestack stopped pumping smoke for a while,” he said in an email interview. “But, now with comedy clubs and the whatnot opening a bit, I’ve been able to open up the factory again.”

In fact, it’s the “comedy clubs” part that has been the most intriguing aspect of his current run of socially distanced performances. With seven one-hour stand-up specials under his belt, including his most recent Netflix special “Brian Regan: Nunchucks and Flamethrowers,” you can typically find the popular performer exclusively in theaters and prestigious venues ranging from Radio City Music Hall and the Kennedy Center to his debut performance across the pond at The Leicester Square Theatre in London.

Now, Regan has continued to tour by playing both drive-in movie theaters and comedy clubs, which has led to him making a rare appearance in Lexington at Comedy Off Broadway on Sept. 13 and 14.

“If he was coming to Kentucky, he would normally be at Rupp Arena or The (Lexington) Opera House,” said Garrett Wilson, box office manager at Comedy Off Broadway. “So, this is going to be a special treat for us.”

Since we last spoke to Regan prior to him performing at the Singletary Center for the Arts in 2016, he has been seen beyond the stand-up stage and TV specials. He had a four-episode stand-up and sketch comedy show on Netflix called “Standup and Away! with Brian Regan” released in 2017 and the typically clean-humored comedian showed a bit more edge as a character for two seasons on the DirectTV Audience Network dark comedy series “Loudermilk” co-created and directed by Peter Farrelly.

Even though he joked that he “kind of felt like the Tin Man” when he first came back to the stage after the restrictions during the panic loosened up, he said he managed to oil up pretty quickly. The material that Regan is bringing to Lexington will be new and largely what his fans have grown to love.

“I touch on the pandemic a tiny bit,” he said. “But, for the most part, I try to just do the normal quirky stuff I tend to like.”

Regan isn’t the only one who has made some changes to keep comedy going. Comedy Off Broadway is also taking steps to make sure audiences have a place to laugh in the middle of a pandemic.

Wilson said the venue reopened on July 2 only to close a month later due to new restrictions. The club has been bringing in comics regularly since it reopened again on Aug. 21.

In addition to slashing its maximum capacity in half from 250 to 125, Comedy Off Broadway has adopted what it calls “guided open seating,” doing away with the reserved seating before coronavirus and having audience members ushered to the closest available seats while maintaining social distancing. Each couple now gets their own table, with parties of six or more able to sit together with proper spacing. Showtimes also are earlier to accommodate the state’s alcohol curfew.

Wilson said in addition to “abundant sanitizer,” patrons will be required to wear masks on their way to and from their table but may remove them once they are seated. All staff at Comedy Off Broadway wear masks while taking extra sanitation measures.

“We are doing much more thorough cleaning in-between shows, including doors and windows. Pretty much in-between each show, we are sanitizing the entire place,” Wilson said. “We are taking every step we can to make sure that our staff and audiences are safe.”

Now Comedy Off Broadway is ready to host its biggest comedy booking since it reopened. Regan hopes anyone who comes out to see him is richly rewarded ... literally.

“I want everyone to walk out of my show with a big bag of gold,” Regan said. “If that’s not possible, I hope they at least enjoy a couple laughs.”

Brian Regan

When: 7 p.m., Sept. 13 and 14

Tickets: $35

Where: Comedy Off Broadway, 161 Lexington Green Circle

Call: 859-271-5653

Online: comedyoffbroadway.com