Don’t we all need a good laugh? Yes, but you’ll have to wait until June to see Olympia comedian

Happiness, according to Olympia comedian Gabriel Rutledge, isn’t funny. In fact, that’s the title of his 2014 autobiography.

For Rutledge — who will now appear June 21 at the The Washington Center for the Performing Arts after his Saturday show was canceled — what’s funny is the truth.

“I want to give a fairly accurate picture of where I am in life every time I’m on stage,” he told the Olympian. “I know comedians who are married who do jokes about dating. I know comedians who pretend they’re much younger than they are. I’m always going to use my real age.

“That’s the point of comedy: It’s the truth exaggerated. The truth is always funnier.”

The truths Rutledge pulls out on stage are mostly personal and often self-deprecating. He admits in his act that he’s often told he looks like chubby Jesus, adding, “That’s hurtful. It’s accurate, but it’s hurtful.”

Early in his career —launched at an open mic nearly 20 years ago — he gave up on the idea of doing social commentary.

“I thought I was going to speak truth to power and talk about society’s woes,” he said. “It turns out that’s not what people want to hear from me.”

He does have some material about COVID-19, though.

“It just sort of needs to be addressed at this point — especially at a public gathering,” he said, laughing. “I think everyone feels a little bit better after it’s addressed.”

He was even willing to share a coronavirus joke:

“You know, with the internet, with the amount of information we have, that’s not always a good thing,” he said. “At least the dinosaurs got to die surprised.”

He paused. “That’s not to say we’re all going to die.”

Another pause. “Well, actually, we will, but not today.”

Though the joke is a departure from Rutledge’s usual autobiographical material, it does fit into his description of his act. “It’s real, and it’s honest, but it’s light,” he said. “I’m not trying to change what anyone thinks. I’m trying to get you to not think and just laugh.”

It’s a style that has kept the Seattle International Comedy Competition winner working as a standup for 20 years, touring (mostly in North America and once in Pakistan) and making TV appearances.

And it’s one that has required his family to be good about taking a joke. Much of his act focuses on his relationships with Krist Rutledge, his wife of 22 years, and their children, Johnny, 17 and a junior at Olympia High School; Maisy, 12 and in sixth grade at Washington Middle; and Olive, 8 and in third grade at Pioneer Elementary.

“I guess that’s how you know you failed at family planning, when they’re at three different levels of school,” he said.

Although he’s soon to record a YouTube special for clean-comedy series Dry Bar Comedy, Rutledge doesn’t hesitate to talk about sex — or the lack of it.

In his 2018 appearance on “Inside Joke with Asif Ali,” he riffed on the challenges of watching porn with the person you’re married to, especially when she wants to make frequent comments about what’s on screen.

“You don’t need to say, ‘Just so you know, I’m never going to do that,’ ” he said. “I know you’re never going to do that. That’s why I was going to watch this lady have a go at it.”

He raises his voice. “She seems to love it!