Kathleen Madigan at Playhouse Square On Sale Friday!

When asked how she got into comedy, Kathleen Madigan confesses her whole career move was really an accident. She was lucky enough to walk into a bar on open mic night! "Maybe I'll put that on my epitaph!" notes Kathleen.

Over Kathleen Madigan's 29-year career she has performed on nearly every standup television show ever aired: Leno, Letterman, Conan, Ferguson and so on...all the while still spending 250 nights a year on the road! Her latest road trip will stop at Playhouse Square Thursday, Feb. 1 at 8 pm, spotlighting her "Boxed Wine and Bigfoot Tour" at the Ohio Theatre. (Tickets go on sale Fri., Oct. 6 at 11 am and are $45 at playhousesquare.org or 216-241-6000.)

Kathleen's career path has taken her from one-nighters, club gigs and theaters to headlining the Mirage in Las Vegas. Along the way she has won both the American Comedy Award and the Phyllis Diller Award for "Best Female Comedian," and has performed on two USO tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. "There's no better show on earth than a show for the troops," says Kathleen. "Trust me. No crowd is as happy to see a show than 1000 soldiers in Kabul. I don't think they get paid enough for a hard job, so I like to do something free when I can."

"So how is it," the Detroit Free Press asks, "that Madigan has yet to be cast as the wise-cracking a) best friend, or b) office worker or c) martini-swilling mother-in-law in any of countless sitcoms? Perhaps it's because she's so irreplaceable on the stage. She's described as the funniest woman doing stand-up right now, but no gender qualifier is necessary. Along with Lewis Black, Brian Regan and Jim Gaffigan, she's one of the funniest stand-up comedians of her generation."

But as Kathleen contends, "I just want to tell jokes. I didn't start doing open mics to become an actor on a sitcom on in a TV commercial. Those things never even crossed my mind. I just like to tell jokes for an hour or so and laugh. For a few of us working today, this was our goal. We don't have any more goals. Can't you ever have a goal...reach it and then just enjoy it? This society is being driven by type A lunatics who say 'you have to set more goals.' No, you don't. Have a seat and enjoy the fat that you're here! Maybe that's the Irish talking in me though."

Kathleen is the only comedian in the history of NBC's Last Comic Standing to go unchallenged by any other comedian--meaning no comedian would say they were funnier than her; Kathleen was a top-three finalist in Season 2 and a judge on Season 5. She has done live remotes and commentary on numerous shows including Dr. Phil, E!, TV Guide Network, VH1, ESPN 2 and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Kathleen's most recent special "Bothering Jesus," is her fifth hour-long special and her third special top be available on Netflix. A favorite on nationally-syndicated radio shows (The Bob and Tom Show and The Stephanie Miller Show), Kathleen is in constant rotation on SIRIUS-XM Radio, and was repeatedly voted listeners' #1 favorite. Kathleen has performed internationally in Ireland, England and Australia and has filmed six Montreal Gala Shows for Canadian television at the Montreal Comedy Festival.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri Kathleen divides her time between the road, Los Angeles and Missouri. For more information go to www.KathleenMadigan.com; follow Kathleen on Twitter - @KathleenMadigan

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