Accomplished stand-up Erik Koconis is teaching a standup comedy class from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday Dec. 19 and Monday Dec. 26 at Be Spectacled, 7605 W. Harwood Ave., Wauwatosa. Each class focuses on different material and costs $5. According to a release: Class 1 – “The art of joke writing: Developing your […]

One week before Dec. 25, if you’re looking for respite from the shoppers or the Packers or commercialized holiday TV, you have options. ComedySportz Rec League championship. 2 p.m., 420 S. 1st St. It’s just like ComedySportz except it’s free. And the performers aren’t paid. They’re amateurs. That’s why it’s free. But the bar and

Milwaukee Comedy doesn’t just love comedy, we help bring it to the stage – literally! Over three days, Milwaukee Comedy Founder Matt Kemple, with help from Chicago based Bye Bye Liver producers Matt Mattingly and Byron Hatfield and local talent Nate Press build a new stage in the ComedySportz Garage. “I noticed the [ComedySportz] garage

Not to be totally eclipsed by all the more widely commercialized holidays, Festivus is raising its unadorned aluminum pole at the Milwaukee Art Museum’s MAM After Dark series. Yes, there will be the customary Feats of Strength and as in Festivus celebrations of yore, there’s the time-honored Airing of Grievances. From the web (with a

Dobie Maxwell is a Milwaukee-grown comic based in Chicago who contributes a blog to OnMilwaukee.com. Recently, he lamented that political satire – exemplified by Will Durst (also a Milwaukee-area native) – has become more difficult with “audiences getting dumber by the minute” because Americans no longer follow current events. There’s even a university study suggesting

My mate and I are planning to attend the premier of a new musical in Milwaukee Thursday. We don’t know what it’s about. The cast and the band are just as clueless. That’s the point of The Improvised Musical (T.I.M.). The audience suggests the title for a musical that has never before been staged, and

Besides watching TV and playing cards, I can’t remember doing much of anything you’d vaguely consider cultural during the holidays when I was growing up. Nowadays, dragging the family to the theater or a ballet or concert has become part of our seasonal tradition. This year, there’s no shortage of shows to choose. Bunny Gumbo

The Wisconsin Department of Tourism is planning a news conference Thursday, Dec. 15, featuring the department secretary and David Zucker, the Shorewood-grown writer, director and producer of such funny films as “Airplane,” “The Naked Gun” series, “Ruthless People” and the last two installments of “Scary Movie.” That’s also the day Zucker is scheduled to shoot

Much maligned, in my humble estimation, are the holiday fruitcakes so often poked fun of in yuletide ditties and skits. I mean, c’mon, what could be better in a sweet bread than alcohol and dried and candied fruit? Which brings us to a production this weekend at the Cedarburg Cultural Center, called “Instant Fruitcakes.” From

Fans of team-oriented competitive improvisational comedy – and anyone drawn to free entertainment – should know about the upcoming playoffs for the ComedySportz Recreational League. After months of grueling workshops and hard-fought battles of wit, eight teams of improvisers will compete in a single-elimination tournament this month. The first round of bouts begins at 2