Stand-up comic Brian Regan will return to New Orleans when his tour takes over the Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts on Sunday, January 10. The comedian will be making his third theater appearance in the Crescent City, with his last stop taking place at the newly-renovated Saenger in 2013.

“I haven’t played there as much as I would like,” notes Regan. “Years ago, when I was doing comedy clubs, I performed their only once, I think. There weren’t a lot of comedy clubs in New Orleans. But it’s a fantastic city and I certainly love visiting. So I’m excited to come back and do my show.”

New Orleans is as good a place as any to see Regan, but the location isn’t really important. He delivers a similar set each night, so fans shouldn’t expect many jokes directed at the city itself. It’s just not Regan’s style, though he does have a few ideas about what might happen.

“It’s going to sound boring,” he says. “But it’s me standing behind microphone, in front of a stool with a bottle of water on it, making people laugh.”

“I don’t really do geographical stuff,” he adds “My stuff is just about my view of my world, and the world we all live in. I might do a joke or two about [my location] just so people know that I know where I am, but I don’t really come to rip that town to pieces.”

Over the past two decades Regan has established himself as one the biggest names in American comedy, having racked up a record 28 stand-up appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman (the most of any comedian in the show’s history). Add two Comedy Central specials, numerous DVDs and one of the most popular comedy CDs out there to the mix, and you’ve got one of the most distinguished resumes in the business.

Yet, Regan’s most admirable attribute–besides being incredibly funny–is his tireless commitment to his comedic craft. While filling up Radio City Music Hall for  Comedy Central’s first-ever live special, as he did in September of last year, might lead most to take a well-deserved break, Regan has continued to tour relentlessly and plans to hit close 100 cities a year.

And he shows now signs of letting up. Thousands and thousands of people are still packing theaters to see him every time he brings his sarcastic, observational humor on the road. His appeal is only made greater by the fact that he keeps his sets relatively clean, though he doesn’t know why people often focus on that aspect of his material.

“I don’t tout the fact that it’s clean. Other people do, but to me it’s just comedy,” he says. “The Beatles were clean, but if you went to see them today you wouldn’t even think about that. You’d also be surprised that two of them were alive. And then you’d go ‘wait a second, I guess they’re clean too.’ So to me it’s always been weird that that’s something people focus on, when it’s not something that I necessarily focus on. Clearly there are people there that like that aspect, but I’m not doing it to accommodate them. It’s just a style of comedy. There painters that like to use acrylics, I like to tell jokes about everyday things.”  

Brian Regan will perform at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts on Sunday, January 10 at 7pm. Tickets for the show are on sale here.