Milwaukee Ha Ha?

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Comedy news and views from Jeff Kreisler, with an IFC twist.

Drop him a line at sketchy (at) ifc dot com.

By Jeff Kreisler on 11/04/2009

Filed under: Around The World, Up For Debate

No, really. I am in Milwaukee for a couple days. Performing at Marquette and UW Oshkosh.

I got to thinking... Besides Laverne & Shirley, most seasons of the Brewers (especially the Red Necks and Jeffrey Leonard years), and the accents, what's so funny about Milwaukee?

This site gives me some comedy around. There are a couple clubs, some improv, some sketch groups... but is there anything amazing here? Who's "come out of" Milwaukee? This type of town has got to produce some under-the-radar gems, so who are they?

And, furthermore, let's maybe start a little breakdown of comedy cities in the USA. In fact, this Milwaukee trip has just inspired me to do so. I'm gonna give it an off-the-cuff stab below, but I want to create a good list of comedy cities, with stuff like history and opportunity and industry and support, etc. etc. etc.

So, when you're done telling me what to do in Milwaukee, send me some ideas on city rankings. Ooooh, this should be fun.

Preliminary Comedy City Thoughts:
Tier One: LA, NYC
Tier Two (supportive, creative, feeding ground): San Fran, Boston
Tier Three (history, support, tradition): Chicago, Houston
Tier Four (burgeoning scene beyond just a local club): Seattle, Austin, DC, Detroit
Hmmmm...

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