For comedian Kathleen Madigan, a joke may be as funny today as it was 10, 20 or 100 years ago, but the options for delivering a one-liner or commentary about growing up in a large Catholic family have increased tenfold. And each has a totally different audience or vibe.
"Comedy hasn't changed, but how you reach people has, and it just keeps changing," Madigan said in a telephone interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "I don't know if better or worse."
She said social-media platforms like Instagram and TikTok potentially allow artists to quickly reach more people, but everyone is competing for people and bandwidth.
"Back in the old days, it wasn't as crowded, I guess. I don't know how you gain traction. Before, if you went on (Johnny) Carson, two-thirds of the country watched it."
Madigan returns to Chattanooga for a Thursday show in Walker Theatre inside Memorial Auditorium. She said she is on most of the social networks and even has her own podcast, Madigan's Pubcast. It's mostly her telling stories and commenting on events, trends, people (including her parents) and her Catholic upbringing.
It's similar fodder to her comedy act, but looser, as the format gives her more time to explore topics.
"One thing for sure, the thing that sells tickets is the podcast," she said. "I'm not saying you have to have one, but it helps sell tickets."
Twitter, however, is not a format she's crazy about.
"It's a minefield," she said. "You've kind of got to give it a thought before you say something. It's taken me a long time to figure it out.
"I have tweeted about politics, which I don't do a lot of talking about, but the worst is sports."
A St. Louis native, Madigan said she once Tweeted something she considered nonconfrontational about the St. Louis Cardinals, causing avid fans of the baseball team to call her names not printable in a family newspaper.
"With Instagram, I just post pics of puppies," she said.
Madigan has done more than 40 appearances on late-night talk shows and multiple comedy specials airing on Netflix, Comedy Central and HBO. She also joined Jerry Seinfeld on his Netflix show, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." She launched her podcast during the pandemic on all streaming outlets.
Her most recent special, "Bothering Jesus," is her fifth hour-long stand-up special and the third available on Netflix. Her album release of the special was the highest-selling comedy album and most-played comedy album on streaming services since 2014. She recently shot her sixth stand-up special, which will be released in early 2023.
Madigan is good friends with fellow comics Louis Black and Ron White and spent some time with White vacationing at Hales Bar in Marion County during the pandemic. She said the two rented cabins there and a pontoon boat "and had the time of our lives."
"We couldn't go around people or crowds, but you can get to Chattanooga from there on the boat so quickly. It was a blast," she said.
They did not, however, go anywhere near the alleged haunted areas of the marina.
"Nope. Not for me," she said.
IF YOU GO
— What: Kathleen Madigan’s Do You Have Any Ranch? comedy tour
— When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22
— Where: Walker Theatre, 399 McCallie Ave.
— Admission: $35-$45
— Online: tivolichattanooga.com
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com