Photo Credit: Luzena Adams
Kathleen Madigan is not necessarily in love with being a standup comedian anymore. “I’ve done this for 30 years,” she says. “I’ve had a wonderful time. But I am not compelled or possessed to keep doing it.”
You wouldn’t be able to tell from her output. Madigan has developed a reputation over her 30 years in the industry for keeping a rigorous touring schedule that has her on the road 250 nights a year. She has recorded four specials in that time. The most recent, Bothering Jesus, was recorded at Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater. It’s a venue that her and her friend Lewis Black, who opened for her at the taping of Bothering Jesus, have developed a deep affinity for.
“I just love that theater, and so do a million others,” she says. “There’s just something about the place. You can’t really say why, but you get on stage and you just go, ‘I would film something here.’ It’s somehow the way that place captures the energy.”
She will return to the Pabst on Friday, Sept. 21 for her “Boxed Wine and Bigfoot” tour. The title references what has become a bit of an obsession of hers. “I just think that it’s one of the last mysteries that might be possible,” she says of the mysterious creature. “I do think that it’s possible, when you see how extensive and massive the woods are that are unexplored in Lower Canada, Oregon and Washington.”
Fans of Madigan’s earlier work will find some jokes familiar on this tour. Unlike many comedians, Madigan does not come with a completely new routine on every tour. There are a few reasons for this. For one, her constant touring schedule would make that incredibly difficult. Also, her fans continually ask for the old hits. “I’ve rotated [material] since Bothering Jesus,” she says. “But then people are like, ‘Oh, I wanted you to do your Malaysia Air thing.’ Well, there hasn’t been any updates.” The final, and most simple, reason is that she finds the idea “terrifying.”
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“I don’t know where people are doing these brand-new acts,” she says. “Is it in your basement? I don’t know where you’re doing them that you’re so confident. I mean, good for you, but I wouldn’t be.”
One place Madigan certainly feels comfortable is at the Pabst Theater in front of the local audience. “The Milwaukee crowds are totally awesome,” she says. “But there’s also an added element of, I don’t know, the intangible.”
Kathleen Madigan will perform at the Pabst Theater on Friday, Sept. 21. You can purchase tickets here.
