Improv and Dogs at the Pabst

For ten years, England's Channel Four presented an improv comedy show hosted by distinguished British funnyman Clive Anderson. At some point in the early ‘90's, episodes of the Channel Four programwith the marginally witty title Whose Line Is It Anyway? aired in the states on the basic cable network Comedy Centralthen in its infancy. The show had enough charm to interest ABC in doing a US version of the show that began airing here in 1998 only a little more than a month before it disappeared from Channel 4's line-upThe show had become a U.S. hit hosted by U.S. funnyman Drew Carey.

With one show ending where the next began, improv comics had a chance to seamlessly cross the Atlantic and continue doing the same silly improv games here that took place over there. Two such people to make the crossover were Scottish-Canadian performer Colin Mochrie and Chicago-born export-turned-import Brad Sherwood.  The ABC show was moved to tis basic cable network ABC Family in 2005 and then vanished from the network in 2007. Since then, Sherwood and Mochrie occasionally have found themselves traveling to various stages doing the same sorts of things that they've come to be so recognized for over the past couple of decades. Mochrie and Sherwood make it to the Pabst Theatre this weekend in a couple of 8pm performances.

In the afternoon of the 29^th between the two performances, Todd Oliver and his Dogs Gone Wild take the stage for a show featuring not only the canine antics of Irving, Lucy and Elvis but the wooden antics of ventriloquil figures “Pops,” “Miss Lilly” and “Joey.” Improv, trained dogs and ventriloquism--placed just a bit closer together, this could've been a truly bizarre variety program.    

Mochrie and Sherwood make perform January 28^th and 29^th at 8pm.

Todd Oliver and Friends performs at 2pm on the 29^th. Call 414-286-3663 for reservations.