Comedian Brian Regan entertained a mostly-full Atwood Theater at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday evening. Renowned for the clean, family-friendly nature of his content, Regan did not disappoint.
Regan began, as most comics do, by acknowledging that performing in Alaska is not a typical stop on his schedule. "For the past few months, people have come up to me and said 'so I have been to your webpage, and it says you are performing in Anchorage … in January?'" Regan noted that he didn't "think the state closes" this time of year.
One of Regan's most well-received bits centered around his attempt to make banana juice: "I figured there was a delay in the juice part of the machine, so I just kept adding bananas. Seven bananas!" Ultimately, he explained that he opened up his juicer and ate the banana pulp. "Banana off the cob. It's banana, without all the work."
Regan also noted "only two things come in sprees: shopping," he said, pausing for effect. "And killing."
But Regan's most thought-provoking moment occurred during his encore. After he returned to the stage, Regan received a few specific joke requests, including an audience member who yelled, simply, "UPS!" Regan gamely agreed to tell his popular UPS joke, but called out the comedic awkwardness of taking requests: "Comedy is supposed to have a surprise," he said to the audience, "but you all don't seem to care about that."
An appreciative, entertained audience laughed that that improvised moment of surprise, and enjoyed the UPS joke all the same. (Luckily, most of us had never heard it before.)