By Peter Lindblad
Here’s some free advice to men about menopause.
Pay attention to the jokes Ms. Pat is telling about her experiences with it on her “Hot and Flashy Tour.” It could mean the difference between life and death.
“I hope they learn something about the reason why we want to cut their neck one minute and love ‘em the next one,” joked Ms. Pat, whose real name is Patricia Williams.
The Atlanta comedian is coming back to Milwaukee, one of her favorite cities, for an Oct. 25 show at The Pabst Theatre. Show and ticket info is also available at www.MsPatComedy.com.
She’s working a new hour of material, and as the title of her tour suggests, menopause is one of subjects foremost on Ms. Pat’s mind. But that’s not all she’s talking about.
“Oh, just life, you know,” said Ms. Pat. “Always life with me. I’m married, you know, kids, a little bit about what’s going on with the election, and all the good old crazy stuff going on in the world.”
As a touring stand-up comic, Ms. Pat only recently graduated from leaving crowds rolling in the more confined aisles of comedy clubs to filling up theaters, and the difference in the size of venues is just one of the benefits. At the club level, Ms. Pat could do as many as five or more shows in a weekend. With theaters, it’s just one performance, and then, she moves on.
“Theaters is really quick. You’re in and you’re out,” said Ms. Pat.
Known for her honest, unfiltered, and raunchy comedy, stemming from her outrageously funny storytelling, Ms. Pat – often compared to Richard Pryor – has been doing stand-up for a long time. She had a rough, impoverished beginning in life, becoming pregnant twice as a teenager by an older, married man, suffering domestic abuse and sexual abuse as a child at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend, and then getting shot twice – once by her boyfriend and the other time while dealing crack on the streets of Atlanta.
All of it, including a stint in prison, was detailed in her incredibly moving, often harrowing, and disarmingly comical book Rabbit, a finalist for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature in 2018.
She often tells the story of how a caseworker convinced her to give stand-up comedy a try in Atlanta. The rest is history, as Ms. Pat moved to Indiana with her family in 2006 and became a fixture at the famed Morty’s comedy club. It was a long grind, and then in 2015, her comedy career started gaining more traction, as she shook up the ninth season of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.”
Hilarious and compelling appearances on podcasts hosted by Joe Rogan, Marc Maron, Bert Kreischer, Bobby Lee, and Ari Shaffir got her noticed by more and more people, as did her frequent radio spots on “The Bob and Tom Show.”
Hollywood came calling as a result, leading to the development of her hit Emmy-nominated sitcom “The Ms. Pat Show” – the fourth season is streaming on BET+.
Guest spots on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” have provided even more chances to get a taste of Ms. Pat’s outlandish humor. And she’s connected with the hosts, as they’ve both become friends.
“You know, I’m always there promoting a show for BET or BET+, but just the open arms that they give me… ” said the naturally funny Ms. Pat. “I really enjoy going on those shows, and Seth… Seth can come to Thanksgiving (laughs).”
The chemistry between Ms. Pat and Meyers is evident.
“I know. He needs to give me a part-time job (laughs),” said Ms. Pat.
As for her own shows, pushing the envelope is standard operating procedure. They went even further this season of “The Ms. Pat Show,” and an ever-expanding audience lapped it up.
“Yeah, this season really popped,” said Ms. Pat. “We didn’t expect it to pop like that, but people really enjoyed it, and I picked up a lot of new people who had never discovered the show. And we were in our fourth season, so I just hope it keeps going and we keep rockin’ it.”
One of the episodes was a real eye-opener. It was written in part by her daughter, Garrianna, and it created a scenario in which Ms. Pat’s family stopped at a reparations’ hotel. White people were slaves at the lodging in a thought-provoking story that flipped the script on history.
“You know, I had never been to a reparations’ hotel. We kind of just wanted to make a point, but when I read the script, I said, ‘This is hilarious,’” said Ms. Pat, with a laugh. “And it’s one of my favorite episodes.”
With “The Ms. Pat Show,” the relationship between Ms. Pat and her sister, played by Tami Roman, often takes center stage. And they get into all kinds of Lucy and Ethel – from the old “I Love Lucy” show – hijinks. One episode from season four illustrates their bond, and there were moments that felt like a throwback to old Scooby Doo cartoons.
“We had one where my momma came back to life,” said Ms. Pat. “That one was really funny. That was one of my favorites, too … You right, a Scooby Doo feel (laughs).”
Her entertainment empire continues to grow, as the second season of “Ms. Pat Settles It” – a wilder version of a judge show like “Judge Judy” – on BET has wrapped. Ms. Pat is in her element on it.
“Oh my God, it just really lets me be a comedian,” said Ms. Pat. “And you know, people come in there to hear me settle it, and they want me to talk crap to them, so that’s what I do [laughs]. I always tell people, ‘Ms. Pat Settles It’ is the courtroom Black people want to go to.”
At first, as she’s recounted on various talk shows, Ms. Pat didn’t realize the money she was giving away was real. And she doesn’t get to choose the cases.
“Oh, the production does that,” said Ms. Pat. “I don’t know anything about the cases until they get in front of me. And I asked for it to be like that, so my reaction is natural.”
And she has been shocked on occasion, like when the case of the “Naked Chef” came before her bench.
“Most of the time, I am surprised,” laughed Ms. Pat. “Like, really? Especially with the naked chef. And I’ve learned a lot, too, ‘cause I’m 52, so a lot of what comes out, I don’t know what they’re talking about. Come to find out, a naked chef is something you can order all the time. Well, according to them, you can order one.”
As a kid, Ms. Pat used to watch daytime court shows with her momma. She said she never thought she’d be one, though.
“I didn’t see that one coming,” laughed Ms. Pat.
If she had a crystal ball, perhaps she could have foreseen becoming a successful comic, after growing up poor, and marrying a good man. She’s not sure now where “The Ms. Pat Show” will go from here, but Ms. Pat is ready to keep on going. Where would she like to see it go?
“Season seven, eight, nine, and 10 … [laughs],” said Ms. Pat. “If there’s a season five, if you loved season four, just wait till you see what we’ve got to give you for season five. Of course, I want to write about menopause. I want to talk about menopause. Me and my husband have our own bedrooms. I want to talk about those things. Those things have been going on for years, but nobody really talks about it.”
Ms. Pat had plenty to talk about in her first stand-up special “Y’all Wanna Hear Something Crazy?” That experience helped prepare her for recent runs of theater shows.
“Well, the standup special, that was directed by Robert Townsend,” said Ms. Pat. “I learned a lot from Robert Townsend. He really opened my mind when I was getting ready for that special. So, I take those techniques, and I use them when I’m writing a joke. I make sure I ask myself this one thing: ‘What else can I get out of this joke? Is there more to get out of this story?’ Because he pushed me like that, so that’s how I am today.” It’s safe to say, there’s more to get out of Ms. Pat’s story, which has more chapters to be written.