'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' cast members to bring improv comedy to Wharton Center

The improv comedy television show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" came on the air in the late 90s, bringing laughs with comedy sketches and songs made up on the spot.

Now some original cast members of the show are on a national tour and are making a stop in East Lansing at the Michigan State University Wharton Center on Friday.

WKAR's Sophia Saliby spoke with comedian Greg Proops who is a part of the cast about "Whose Live Anyway?"

Interview Highlights

On a favorite moment from the original run of the American series

On how the cast does improv

On how the stage show works

Interview Transcript

Sophia Saliby: The improv comedy television show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" came on the air in the late '90s, bringing laughs with comedy sketches and songs made up right on the spot.

Now some original cast members of the show are on a national tour and are making a stop in East Lansing at the Michigan State University Wharton Center on Friday.

I spoke comedian and cast member Greg Proops about the show "Whose Live Anyway?" and started by asking him why the show has such a long-lasting legacy.

Greg Proops: I would say it's probably down to my enormous talent and the draw of having everyone know that I'm going to be in the room with them while I drag the others across the finish line. I think it's something that people watch with their parents, especially back in the the Drew Carey days.

And mind you, we've been on the CW for the last 10 or 12 years, which, of course, no one knows really, I guess that goes down to the CW's promotions department, with Aisha Tyler. And I think it's a family show, and I think we get every age group at the show. And I think that's part of why it is. That and the unpredictability, I think people really do enjoy that it's not scripted.

Saliby: Do you have a favorite moment from the original run of the show?

Proops: Well, there was an episode where Drew Carey called Africa a country. And I took great exception to that, and I had to point out to him that Africa is indeed a continent that contains many countries, and that one seems to be pretty popular. A woman gave me a bracelet of it a couple of months ago that I wear on stage that says "Africa as a continent."

And I think I wasn't on the Robin Williams episode, but I was a huge Robin Williams fan, and I think that was a real highlight for our show, because him and Jonathan Winters, I think, were the greatest improvisers that ever lived.

Saliby: I think many people have sat through a, let's say, not so great improv show. So, what makes good improv?

Proops: You don't see process. You just see the jokes and the end result. The thing about our show is we're not doing long form. And I think sometimes when people go see improv shows, there's a lot of hemming and hawing before anything really happens.

And because this is a TV show, and our producer, Dan, sort of perfected how we do it, we get to the joke and we jump all over it within the first 15 to 30 seconds, there's no waiting around with us. So if we're newscasters, and I have to announce the Ryan [Stiles] is gonna do the weather, we're all really moving forward quickly.

It's a little bit of a shark tank because we play fast like the Harlem Globetrotters. We can bounce pass backwards to each other without looking at each other, and I think that's sort of the difference. We have pace. And anything that doesn't work isn't on the show.

Saliby: On the flip side, what makes a good audience suggestion?

Proops: Oh, I think things we haven't heard before. You know, every once in a while we get something really wild. We'll get some '50s calisthenics or something, or you're forever going to get blender and things like that. So, we really try to stay away from any of those and a little bit of bit of originality goes a long way.

I mean, if you say "George Washington's house" or something, that's much better than saying "my apartment building." But again, anything can be improvised. So, we try not to cherry pick too much because then the audience thinks you're really just waiting for the one you wanted.

Saliby: You mentioned with the show, having some editorial ability to kind of cut down on what is best and what maybe doesn't work as well, but the stage show is all live. So, what can audience members expect from that?

Proops: Well, I think the difference is, you don't have that pane of glass between you and us. We're really immediate. And we pull people out of the audience. We do a bunch of different improvs with people from the audience.

We do Moving People where they have to move us around. We do Sound Effects, where they have to do the sound effects for us. We do a first date where we bring people up on stage and talk to them about their partner, and then improvise the first date. We sing a song to them.

So, it's way more vital. And also we hit the stage running. We really have one goal in mind, and that's to get a standing ovation at the end. So, we're sort of bursting with energy up there, and I think that's the difference is it's way more engaging than watching it on your phone and on your computer.

Saliby: Greg Proops is a part of the cast of "Whose Live Anyway? who are coming to MSU Wharton Center Friday. Thank you for joining me.

Proops: You're very professional, Sophia, thank you. Sophia is a reporter working for the station you just listened to, and she'll be in East Lansing as well, although I don't know which direction she'll be facing.

Saliby: [laughing] Thank you.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

The MSU Wharton Center is a financial supporter of WKAR.