Fast, funny foursome brings ‘Whose Live Anyway?’ to Modesto’s Gallo Center

While being funny on your feet isn’t a skill everyone has, it’s a skill almost everyone enjoys.

The popularity of such humorous spontaneity has helped to sustain the “Whose Live Anyway?” tour, modeled after the ever-popular “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” improvisational TV show. The tour returns to the Gallo Center for the Arts on Friday, after selling out a previous Modesto stop in 2012.

“People like to laugh, especially in today’s world,” said comic Joel Murray. “If you can give them 90 minutes of escapism, it’s good. It’s not heavy; all they have to do is to laugh.”

The show features veteran “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” comics Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops and Jeff Davis, as well as comedic actor Murray. The fully improvised production has the foursome perform skits based on audience suggestions, games and whatever else comes up spur of the moment.

Murray may be the newest comic on the tour, joining the show two years ago, but he has deep roots in improv. The 51-year-old Second City alum is the youngest brother in the famous Murray family, which includes his elder sibling Bill Murray. His TV credits include “Dharma & Greg” and “Mad Men.”

“I started in improv; I was one of the founders of the Improv Olympics in 1984,” Murray said in a recent interview with The Bee from Los Angeles. “It’s a unique skill set. I’m out of Chicago, so we did a slow version of improv – it was more scenic. These guys play a much quicker game than I grew up playing. You have to be fast on your feet reacting, which I’m getting better and better at. These guys are some of the best in the world.”

Murray has been on the tour since original “Whose Live Anyway?” and “Whose Line” comic Chip Esten left after being cast on the hit drama “Nashville.”

He has nothing but praise for his onstage cohorts, calling Stiles a “comic genius,” Proops “one of the brightest guys I’ve ever met” and Davis “playing over my head.” He considers himself more of the “everyman” in the show.

“I get to be the voice of the audience sometimes, and I get laughs that way,” he said. “I was a little nervous starting out because of how quick-witted they are. But I caught on to how to play the games. I’m just trying to make the other guys look good.”

The comics go out each show with nothing prepared. The fast-paced set means there’s little chance to over-think things.

“There’s no use in preparing – we don’t know what we’re doing anyway,” he said. “But usually if we’re having fun, the audience will have fun, too.”

Still, some of Murray’s more recent work has been anything but funny. Since its inception, he has played Freddy Rumsen on the critically acclaimed AMC period drama “Mad Men.” On screen, he has been a co-worker and confidant to the show’s leads Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss).

“It’s such a nice gig. That show is so much fun to work on, and with such nice people,” he said. “It’s TV history. A lot of things I’ve been on are definitely not TV or film history, so it is really neat to be part of something like that. From the top down, everyone is really a pro. The crew is the best crew I’ve ever worked with. The actors are crazy good – Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss. You have to come with your A-game. Still, my character is beloved to a lot of people. People come up to me all the time and say: ‘You were always the heart of the show.’”

The actor has also gotten into directing. He has been behind the camera for the Tim Allen show “Last Man Standing” and the Melissa McCarthy sitcom “Mike & Molly.”

“What I like about my career is I get to do a lot of different things,” he said. “Act, write, direct, do voice-over work. It’s a lot of fun.”

This story was originally published November 13, 2014 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Fast, funny foursome brings ‘Whose Live Anyway?’ to Modesto’s Gallo Center."