ALBANY — With candor and her signature down-to-earth wit, comedian Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams has taken the comedy world by storm. She will be bringing her “Ya Girl Done Made It” tour to the Capital Region for one night only at the Albany Funny Bone, with two shows scheduled for Dec. 31 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Williams, before joking, “I’m just not looking forward to the cold weather!”
Her honesty is at the heart of her work, which audiences can anticipate at her upcoming show.
“I always tell people that they can expect honesty,” she said. “I push the envelope on a lot of subjects; I talk mostly about family, kids, and relationships. That’s what I do: tell the truth.”
By telling the truth, Williams starts a conversation with a twist that’s unique to comedy.
“You can get away with a little bit more doing standup than you can in a regular conversation,” she said. “And people really just need to know that it’s going to be all right. Some of the stuff that you go through in life, there’s nothing wrong with just laughing about it.”
By being unafraid to delve into the darker parts of life in her comedy but still finding a way to make people laugh about it, she carved out an audience that often repeats a similar message to her: “You’re so real.”
“A lot of times we think we’re the only ones going through things in life,” she said. “Once I started doing standup, I realized I’m not the only one going through what I’m going through. A lot of people can relate to some of the topics that I choose to talk about. … It’s almost like giving people a voice.”
Comedy was never the intended vehicle for Williams to tell her stories, but it was a path that came naturally. As she expressed herself and found her voice, she discovered that her audience met her work with an enthusiastic response.
“We decided it was time to kick off a theater tour, which was a little scary for me because I was used to playing clubs,” she admitted. “It felt safer — theaters have a lot more people. But we decided to kick off this theater tour, named it ‘Ya Girl Done Made It,’ and it has been rocking ever since the first time we went out.”
In addition to her standup, Season 2 of Williams’ hit BET sitcom “The Ms. Pat Show” has received a second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series in 2023. “This is our second time receiving an Emmy nomination,” she said. “We’re over here on BET and BET+, and it’s the first show to get them nominated for an Emmy. I’m just living! I’m so happy.”
Seasons 1-3 of “The Ms. Pat Show” are streaming, and Williams is currently filming the fourth season. The series shattered records for viewing and audience engagement on the BET+ platform. The app had so many downloads when the show premiered that it almost crashed.
No case is too complicated or wild in Williams’ second hit show, the courtroom-style comedy “Ms. Pat Settles It.”
“I’m hoping to develop more TV,” said Williams. “I’d love to have a workplace comedy, and I would love to write a couple of movies. … I just want to create. I really like creating. I like to be in front of the camera, but my passion is a little bit more behind the camera.”
Behind the camera, her podcast, “The Patdown with Ms. Pat” is on all platforms, and she’s currently writing her second book, a follow-up to her first, “Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat.”
“I try to make everything universal,” she said. “I try to create things for everybody.”
The Funny Bone is located on the second floor of Crossgates Mall. For tickets and information, visit albany.funnybone.com.