I Walked on the Moon

Brian Regan turns the minor indignities of being an easily confused adult into physical theater. He spends several minutes on stage physically twisting his body to peer around a giant cardboard box to see the numbers on a bathroom scale. This 2004 performance at the Irvine Improv captures a comedian operating at peak efficiency, utilizing a rubber-faced delivery to elevate everyday tasks like shipping a package or visiting the doctor into memorable physical comedy.\n\nAt this point in his career, Regan was a rare anomaly: a headliner filling theaters nationwide almost entirely on the strength of his touring and Late Show appearances, without the benefit of a network sitcom. This special cemented his reputation as one of the premier clean acts of his generation. Rather than relying on shock value or edgy commentary, his jokes focus on common frustrations, like trying to choose a number on the doctor’s pain scale or coping with a refrigerator salesman whose only pitch is that the appliance keeps food cold.\n\nThe show closes with the title routine, where Regan acts out a bragging ‘Me Monster’ at a dinner party who gets effortlessly humbled by a retired astronaut.