Photo courtesy the Accountant of Homeland Security
The Civil War II
The Civil War II: A Live Sketch Comedy Mockumentary
The next live show by Milwaukee’s progressive comedy project, Laughing Liberally, will feature their sketch group, the Accountant of Homeland Security, in what they describe as “a Ken Burns-style documentary” on … the prospect of another American civil war?
“The show will combine live sketches, monologues, music and sepia-toned video segments into a live action mockumentary,” says Laughing Liberally’s Matthew Filipowicz. “It’s a combination of Ken Burns documentary, a Christopher Guest movie, and our political sketches and sensibilities. Each of the three Accountants [Filipowiz, Tim Grimes, Zach Zajac] plays a right-wing idiot MAGA insurrectionist, and the show loosely follows each of us as these morons start the second civil war.”
The premise sounds dark, but without giving anything away, Filipowicz says, “it doesn’t go how the characters expect, and a lot of really funny things happen. We’ve never done a show like this, and frankly, we’re really excited for people to see it.”
The show, called “The Civil War II: A Live Sketch Comedy Mockumentary,” was planned earlier this when Joe Biden was the opponent in the presidential race to Vladmir Putin’s American friend. Do they think the mood in America has changed since then? “Absolutely. And for the better,” Filipowicz says. “We’ve been writing this show for the last several months and when it started it was going to be an old white dude versus another old white dude. But we were sort of expecting a roller coaster.”
They weren’t counting on Biden to drop out, or an assassination attempt. “We specifically wrote it so it satirized big issues and some of the core problems facing the U.S., and not the day-to-day political election news cycle,” Filipowicz explains. “Like, there’s no JD Vance having sex with a couch jokes, but there’s plenty of material about those who support someone like JD Vance and his furniture preferences.”
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Milwaukee’s broadminded comedy collective will open the show. “They’re always hysterical and we love performing with them. They’ll perform a set, there’ll be a short intermission, and then the ‘battle’ will commence.,” Filipowicz says.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m., Saturday Sept. 7 at the Interchange Theater Co-op, 628 N. 10th St. Admission is $10.
