Whether you prefer to get your laughs in intimate clubs or packed arenas, the fall comedy season has something for you.
Nate Bargatze
This is not a misprint. After record-breaking performances in Duluth and St. Paul, the industry’s most popular comic returns to the state for the third time this year. His one-night-only stint in Rochester comes just three days after he hosts the Emmy Awards, a job that usually falls to established talk show hosts like Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Ellen DeGeneres. (7 p.m. Wed., Mayo Civic Center, 30 Civic Center Drive SE., Rochester, $57.55-$598.40, mayociviccenter.com)
Piff the Magic Dragon
Vegas favorite John van der Put blends magic and comedy with the same aplomb as Penn and Teller, except his mentors probably never considered doing their tricks in a costume you’d normally see at children’s parties. The show also will include acts from “America’s Got Talent” and Cirque Du Soleil. (7:30 p.m. Sept. 20, Ames Center, 12600 Nicollet Av., Burnsville, $42.85-$53.15, ames-center.com)
Louis C.K.
His days of filling up arenas might be over, but the onetime King of Comedy seems to have weathered the self-produced storm that temporarily banished him to the bench. Roughly eight years after admitting to sexual misconduct, C.K. is challenging sold-out theater crowds with the same kind of edgy, breath-catching observations that made him a superstar. (7:30 p.m. Sept. 20 and 21, Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av., Mpls., $53-$132.30, hennepinarts.org)
Brian Regan
Ask any comedian over 50 to name their favorite joke tellers and Regan’s name is bound to come up. The 67-year-old genius — he’s been around long enough to have appeared on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” — might have become more famous if he had opted for sitcoms rather than constantly honing his brilliant live act. (8 p.m. Sept. 27, Mystic Lake Casino, 2400 Mystic Lake Blvd., Prior Lake, $39-$48.80, mysticlake.com)
Adrienne Iapalucci
“I don’t know anything about the Middle East,” Iapalucci said in her aptly named 2024 Netflix special, “The Dark Queen.” “Which is why I feel I’m the perfect person to talk about it.” That kind of perverse logic fuels a warped, wonderful act that always goes over well with the smart set that frequents the state’s most legendary club. (8 p.m. Oct. 8 and 9; 7 and 9:30 p.m. Oct. 10 and 11, Acme Comedy Co., 708 N. 1st St., Mpls., $23.75-$28.75, acmecomedycompany.com)
Alex Borstein
It took a while for this multitalented performer to get the credit she so richly deserves, but it finally happened with her Emmy-winning role of a beleaguered manager on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Borstein should be just as exasperated and hilarious in “Thirsty,” her latest one-woman stage show. (7 p.m. Oct. 12, Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Av., Mpls., $30-$40, theparkwaytheater.com)
Sarah Millican
Don’t let the British accent fool you. Millican’s oh-so-naughty sex jokes would get her banned from the grounds of Downton Abbey. But the BBC radio sensation is so charming and clever, your Anglophile mom will quickly forgive her. (8 p.m. Oct. 16 and 21, Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av., Mpls., $103 and up, hennepinarts.org)
