How many of you remember the ABC series, “Whose Line is it Anyway?” The all improv program that featured Drew Carey as its alleged MC as well as a crew of incredibly quick witted comics. Among the performers that appeared on that show were Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Wayne Brady, Greg Proops, Brad Sherwood, Chip Estin and Jeff Davis.
I don’t know about you guys, but I LOVED “Whose Line.” To me, improv is the comedy equivalent of a circus high wire act. The performers are out there on a bare stage, armed with nothing more than their wits and a premise that’s just been thrown to them seconds earlier. So to see these guys suddenly pull these huge laughs out of thin air is both amusing and thrilling.
So what happened to the ABC version of this originally-U.K.-hit-show? A couple of things, actually. First of all, just like they did with the original version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” Disney over-exposed “Whose Line?” Running two episodes back-to-back sometimes twice a week made this extra special program seem … well … less special.
Then there was the TV strike factor? How many of you remember how — back in 2001 — there was supposed to be this horrific strike in the television industry? In theory, had this strike actually gone forward, it could totally crippled Hollywood. Halting production of new TV shows and movies for months at a time.
Just in case this strike actually went forward, Disney ordered ABC to stockpile a bunch of brand new “Whose Line is it Anyway?” With the idea that — even if the entire entertainment industry went on strike for a few months — the Alphabet network would still be able to hang onto some of its viewers by regularly showing them new episodes of “Whose Line.”
But — as I mentioned above — that strike never happened. And ABC was then stuck with this huge backlog of new episodes of “Whose Line.” Which — from what I hear — the network has yet to entirely burn through. From what my sources tell me, even though “Whose Line” hasn’t filmed a new episode since the Fall of 2001, ABC is still sitting on at least 22 new episodes that the network has yet to air.
It’s sad to think that this program is no longer in production. (Though — interestingly enough — people that I’ve spoken with at ABC insist that “Whose Line” ISN’T cancelled. The show merely on “hiatus.” After the network decides what to do with those 22 episodes that it still allegedly has in the can, then it will be interesting to hear what ABC has to has about “Whose Line”‘s status. But — for now — all we can do is wait, I guess. Anyway …) But “Whose Line” lives on in reruns over on ABC Family, where the show runs Monday through Thursday, two episodes airing back-to-back, from 10 — 11 p.m.
And then there are the live versions of the show. Which — while not exactly authorized (which — perhaps — explains this show’s really awkward title: “An Evening with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood from ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway'”) — are still great fun to see.
This past Saturday night, Nancy and I were lucky enough to catch Colin and Brad live on stage. We journeyed down to Providence, R.I. with our good friends Jeff and Flo Lange to see Mochrie and Sherwood at the Providence Performing Art Center. The PPAC (which is this really great theater … a grand old movie palace from the 1920s that has been lovingly restored) provided some wonderful pre-show entertainment: a pair of bats that would periodically fly out over the audience and cause some poor woman in the balcony to scream.
This — as you might expect — immediately got folded into the show. As soon as Brad and Colin took to the stage, Sherwood was heard to remark: “This is the first time that I’ve had to worry about getting rabies while performing.” He went on to say that the audience didn’t really have to worry about the flying rodents. “You see, they’re union bats,” Brad continued. “So they’re going to be taking a lot of coffee breaks.”
And — with that — the show was underway. Brad basically acted as the show’s MC, soliciting suggestions from the audience, explaining what the premise of the next bit would be. While Colin was just … Colin. Pound for pound, one of the funniest guys walking the planet today.
Among the highlights of this past Saturday’s show was:
Sherwood’s on-stage interview with the little old lady veterinarian that he pulled out of the audience. Mochrie then stood alongside these two and allegedly — through sign language — translated the interview for the hearing impaired. Colin’s visualization of what it’s like when a cat simultaneously has uncontrollable vomiting as well as diarrhea brought down the house.
In recreating a favorite bit from the “Whose Line” TV show (“Sound Effects”), Brad and Colin played members of a police forensics squad investigating a pretty bizarre crime scene:
MOCHRIE: (gesturing toward body on floor) Grizzly, isn’t it?
SHERWOOD: What? You’ve never seen a dead body before.
MOCHRIE: Well, not one that’s been attacked by a Grizzly.And then — in a game that really had to be seen to be believed — 100 armed mousetraps were set out around the stage. Then Colin and Brad took off their shoes, put on blind folds and proceeded to act out a scene where they were supposedly hosting a “How-To” show. As they accidentally trod upon the mousetraps but still tried to go forward with the scene, the audience howled.
HELP ME FIND MY CONTACT LENS: As part of Saturday night’s most memorable sketch,
Brad Sherwood (left) and Colin Mochrie feel their way through a stage loaded with live
mouse traps. Photo by Nancy Stadler.
But the real highlight of the evening (which — given that it was the shows’ finale — was appropriate enough) was the police integration scene. Where Mochrie — playing the prisoner being interviewed — was taken out into the theater’s lobby, where he couldn’t possibly hear what Sherwood and the audience were doing. Then Brad took suggestions from the crowd and cobble together this outlandish scenario, in which Colin — dressed in a potato sack, a leotard and a monocle — stole Pee Wee Herman’s bicycle from Skidoodles’ Fishmonger Market. Which he then used to surf in Narragansett Bay. Then — fleeing the crime scene — Mochrie left behind a Frisbee and an oven mitt.
Then Colin is led back into the auditorium. Where — once he gets back on stage — the prisoner must “confess” to his crime. Which involves Mochrie guessing what exactly he’s supposedly supposed to have done.
To watch Colin squirming in the hot seat as Brad teases and tormented him, leading Mochrie part of the way toward what he’d possibly done and where … Only to then leave Colin fumbling and grasping … had the audience in stitches.
Police detective Brad Sherwood (left) interrogates suspect Colin Mochrie
as part of one of Saturday night’s skits. Photo by Nancy Stadler.
At this point, I should probably point out that the Providence Performing Arts Center ISN’T a small hall. It seats 3200. And — this past Saturday night — every one of those seats was filled with people who had tears running down their faces from laughing so much. At two guys who were just winging it. Flying by the seats of their pants.
It was an evening of great, great fun. One that I highly recommend — if you’re luck enough to live where Brad and Colin will be performing next. Speaking of which, here’s a list of some dates that Sherwood and Mochrie — as well as some of their other “Whose Line Is It Anyway” pals — will be performing over the next month or two:
Wednesday, May 12th
The Improv AllStars Show — featuring Colin Mochrie, Greg Proops, Brad Sherwood, Chip Esten and Jeff Davis — will be performing at Centennial Hall in London, ON. Tickets are $39.50 and are available at the theater box office and on line. This show is slated to get underway at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 13th
The Improv AllStars Show then moves on to the Chrysler Theatre at the Cleary International Centre in Windsor, ON. Tickets are $41.00 (plus a $2.00 handling fee) and are available at the theater box office. This show is also slated to start at 7:30 pm.
Friday, May 14th
The Improv AllStars Show continues its Ontario tour with a stop at the Tivoli Theatre in Hamilton, ON. Tickets for this show are $39.50 each and are available at the box office. This performance is also slated to get underway at 7:30 pm.
Saturday, May 15th
The Improv AllStars’ cross-Canadian tour continues with a stop of the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall in Toronto, ON. Tickets for this performance range in price from $35.50 — $42.50 and are still supposedly available at the box office. There’s no word on when this performance is expected to start that night … Though — if I were a betting man — I’d say “7:30 p.m.”
Sunday, May 16th
The Improv AllStars Show conclude their “Great White North” tour with a stop at the Grand Theatre in Kingston, ON. Tickets for this last performance on the tour are $40.50 and are available at the box office. This show is slated to get underway at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 27th
“An Evening with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood from ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway'” will be performed at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH at both 7 pm and 9:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $24.50 — $44.50. Tickets for these two performances are available at the theater’s box office as well as online.
Friday, May 28th
“An Evening with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood from ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway'” continues its swing through New England with a stop at Springfield Symphony Hall in Springfield, MA. No ticket pricing info was available at this time. Though that evening’s performance is slated to get underway at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, June 1st
“An Evening with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood from ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway'” makes a stop at the Midland Center for the Arts in Midland, MI. This performance — which will be held in the MCFTA Auditorium — is slated to begin at 8 p.m. For information about ticket prices and availability, contact the theater box office at (800) 523-7649.
For information on other tour dates for the Improv Allstars Show as well as “An Evening with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood from ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’,” I suggest you drop by www.colinmochrie.com and check out the schedule that’s posted there in the site’s “events listing” section.
If — on the other hand — you’d like to see ABC bring back the “Whose Line Is It Anyway” TV show (or — at the very least — have the network finally air those 22 new episodes it still supposedly has in the can), you can drop by this website and lend your support.
Your thoughts?