For tour updates visit heatherontour.com, as well as on your TV screens in the near future. Maybe another Old Navy commercial as well? One can only hope! Photo by Jenny Anderson

Coming off her 44-city tour, comedian and Atlantan Heather McMahan talks to us about manifesting, performing in the iconic Fox Theatre and what is next for Southern comedy.

If you haven’t heard of Heather McMahan, two words: “Absolutely. Not.” This Ole Miss alum and born-and-bred Atlantan has built quite the comedy career online and otherwise. “It is all so crazy. I feel like for years I was twiddling my thumbs wondering if anything was going to happen, and now I can’t catch my breath!” says McMahan. This past May 25 and 26, McMahan performed to a sold-out audience in Atlanta’s iconic Fox Theatre, opening for herself, in character—yes, you read that correctly. “Brenda Carlyle, Mississippi’s No. 1 real estate agent, opens the show,” says McMahan. “For each show I use this time to really get to know my audience, do some crowd work, see where people are from and what the ‘vibe’ is.” These two Atlanta shows were extremely special for McMahan, who grew up as a theater kid sitting in that very audience. “It is hard to put into words just how cool it is for me to be performing at the Fox. I would go to every Christmas show, every concert with my family growing up, and I always had it on my vision board as something I wanted to do,” says McMahan. “To be able to play the Fox Theatre, sell out two shows and have my local community support me—in cheetah print, no less—is incredible. I really think this show is a testament to keep going for it. Whatever you want to do in life, never take no for an answer and keep going for it.” As The Farewell Tour comes to a close, we look to what is next for the comedian. McMahan is in the process of producing her own comedy special, a potential TV show, a new tour in the fall and in the middle of it all will be finally marrying the love of her life, Jeff Daniels, in Italy, with Robin, her mother, and Rigatoni, her French bulldog, in tow. “I really love to explore the Southern point of view and perspective, specifically the smart, hilarious and ballsy women that I knew growing up around and idolizing,” says McMahan. “It’s a hilarious trope to share with my audience across the country, and I know this isn’t NYC or L.A., but if I can inspire just one young girl somewhere to get up and entertain, then I have done my job.” At the curtain call on the last night at the Fox, McMahan’s late father, Kyle McMahan was projected on the screen as a nod to the milestone.