From “Healing and Happy Endings | Reg Thomas | Stand Up Comedy” by Don't Tell Comedy Don't Tell Comedy
Reg Thomas stand-up: therapy, stairs and New York
A comedy set that moves from wedding songs to therapy.
Key points
- Reg says therapy taught him that problems you do not deal with come out at weird times, which is why he no longer minds crying. 8:04
- Reg says he learned in therapy that women live longer than men because they cry more, while men keep everything bottled up and die sooner. 9:25
- When something bothers him, Reg forces himself to cry, often at YouTube videos of soldiers surprising their families, and he says weed helps him move from crying to thinking. 9:33
- Reg describes several traumatic events that led him to therapy: being stabbed at 17 while defending a friend, and a secret abortion early in his comedy career. 10:20
- His cousin Gary, who had been fighting cancer since they were six, gave Reg front-row tickets to WrestleMania and then took him to Disneyland a week later, shortly before he died. 11:08
Moments on stage
- Wedding song request — Sets up the set with the comedian's playful take on a wedding request. 0:17
- The Staircase bit — Reg's jokes about the HBO show are the set's sharpest turn into crime-drama humour. 4:22
- Airport stairs fall — A physical comedy story that lands on the line about feeling old at 36. 6:08
- Therapy crying — The shift from jokes to personal honesty about therapy and crying. 7:39
- Hard memories — The set moves to heavier stories about a stabbing, an abortion and loss. 9:47
Things on the stage
- Neon sign — A glowing neon sign reads 'Don't Tell Comedy' behind the stage.
- Comedian on stage — A man in a varsity jacket holds a microphone in front of a crowd silhouette.
- Drill press — A green drill press sits on a workbench at the back of the set.