Colin Quinn talks his new one-man show, time on LI, more

It’s been almost a year since a heart attack sent Colin Quinn to the hospital, but the comedian hasn’t let that slow him down any.

 He’s currently poking fun at both sides of the political aisle in a new one-man-show, “Colin Quinn: Red State Blue State,” directed by Bobby Moresco, which opens at the Minetta Lane Theatre on Jan. 22 and runs through March 3. In it, he takes a comedic — and evenhanded — look at the political landscape and our current cantankerous culture.

Known for “Saturday Night Live” and Comedy Central’s “Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn,” the Brooklyn native — with the gruff, New Yawk accent to prove it — has taken deep dives into current (and historical) events before, with previous shows like his “Unconstitutional” (a humorous take on the making of the U.S. Constitution) and his book “The Coloring Book: A Comedian Solves Race Relations in America.” He spoke with Newsday contributor Joseph V. Amodio.

How are audiences reacting to this show? I imagine many enjoy your hashing it out, but what about those who want escapist entertainment?

I don’t mind people who want to escape — but there are some people who don't want to hash it out. They just want to force everybody to think the way they think. That’s the problem. But, fortunately or unfortunately, our system is supposedly based on compromise. As I say in the show, “the problem with compromise is that nobody wants to compromise.” (He chuckles.) I don’t blame ‘em — I don’t want to compromise either.

Are you a political junkie? A history nerd?

No. But I read a lot of great old books for my show on the Constitution a few years ago.  

Then what drives you to tackle these subjects?

I’ve done material on my actual life. I get bored. I love getting laughs, it’s my favorite thing. But once you prove you can do that, can you challenge yourself to do something different? And this is how I see life. I’m always wondering what life was like then. I’m fascinated by the way people are the same. Despite all these technological breakthroughs, we’re still the exact same.

So who’s easier to write a joke about — the Founding Fathers or the Kardashians?

The problem with the Kardashians is that the people who follow them closely will be better at writing jokes about them. Because that’s their life. They get it. Otherwise you come up with some generic joke that anyone could think of.

So the secret to good stand-up is . . . follow your passion?

Exactly. I remember some famous novelist was asked, “Why don’t you ever write those stupid quick books that make millions?” And he goes, “Because I couldn’t. Those are hard unless you’re passionate about those things.”

You grew up in Brooklyn, and attended Stony Brook University. How’d you like the suburbs?

I loved it. We’d joke around, the kids from the city, with the kids from Long Island, about how square and suburban they were. But I loved Long Island. Just driving around, being on the L.I.E. But I was so naive — I didn’t understand the difference of any of the suburbs. I thought the Sunrise Mall was just . . . the mall of Long Island. I didn’t know there were a bunch of malls. I didn’t have a car, so sometimes I’d hitch. I’d have to get to the North Shore from the South Shore, and people would be like . . . no, that’s far. I thought the towns were all lined up near each other like New York streets. So I’d be hitchhiking, and I’d wind up in the middle of nowhere, and I’d be like, how’d I get here? But it was great. I had friends in Merrick, Massapequa . . . I still know them.

I think of you as a city guy.

I am a city guy. But I loved the order, the clean, the quiet. Remember, New York in the ‘70s was so disorderly.

You know, we’re coming up on a year since…

My heart attack.

Yeah. Valentine’s Day, 2018, you had quite a health scare. So how are you approaching this one-year anniversary?

I mean . . . look . . . it’s just one of those weird things where suddenly, you’re like, hey, wait a minute — I’m gonna be one of those that dies. I’d never thought much about it before. Now I’m like, OK, I’m actually gonna die. Someday. So it’s the opposite of being scared.

You sound . . . OK with it.

Well, I have no choice. What am I gonna do? I go to the doctor and get major, serious checkups — the stress machines, blood work, all of that.

That can be comforting — knowing folks with plenty of degrees and machinery are checking you out.

Exactly. God’s not gonna catch me slipping again, believe me. He caught me once when I wasn’t lookin’.