How funny is “Whose Live Anyway?”

Some of that depends on the audience in the city where the cast lands on any given night.

“You do a little bit of research to find out what’s going on and get a feel for the place before you get there, but it’s a lot of audience participation,” said cast member Joel Murray. “You learn from what the audience is giving you.”

Murray, along with Ryan Stiles, Jeff Davis and Gary Anthony Williams, will be riffing at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg on Oct. 30 during the improvisational comedy show of games and skits based on audience suggestions.

The “Whose Live” stage show grew out of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”, which premiered in 1998 on ABC and still airs on The CW. The U.S. version followed the original British show dating back to 1988. Stiles was an original cast member on both.

Murray brings his own lengthy comedy resume to the tour, where he’s been a cast member for nine years.

On television, he starred in “Grand,” “Pacific Station,” Love & War” and “Dharma & Greg.” Guest appearances include comedies such as “The Nanny,” “Two and a Half Men” and “Malcolm in the Middle,” and dramas including “Mad Men” and “Criminal Minds.”

His films include “One Crazy Summer,” “Shakes the Clown,” “Monsters University” and “Scrooged,” in which he appeared with his actor brothers — whose names might also be familiar — Bill Murray, Brian Doyle Murray and John Murray.

The Murray brothers honed their comedy skills around the dinner table at the family home in Wilmette, Ill., among nine siblings vying to amuse their father, who was a notoriously slow eater.

“We learned about timing and holding back,” Murray said. “As the youngest, I learned a lot from my elders. A lot of Bill’s and Brian’s characters grew up at that table.”

Life on the road

Murray met “Whose Live” cast mate Stiles years ago while performing at The Second City comedy club in Santa Monica, Calif.. Stiles encouraged him to audition for the television version, where he’s now a member of the “bullpen” — a group of performers available to fill in for the regulars.

He hasn’t been called up to the plate yet, he said, but that’s OK — the road show keeps him busy and his wits sharp.

“In 2019, I did all 111 shows,” he said. “I was the only one, including the stage manager and piano player, who did that. In 2022, we might break 130 shows.

“I packed a bag in mid-September and I’m still on the road. I won’t be home until Nov. 10,” the Los Angeles resident added. “The shows are backlogged (due to the pandemic), so you try to make up all the shows you can.”

The rigors of the road are made easier by the company of other funny people, he said. And quick wits are essential when they hit the stage.

“You’re making it up as you go along,” he said. “If an individual gets stumped, someone’s gonna bail you out.”

No two shows are alike, and the players never know what to expect when audience members join them on stage.

“You get some certifiably insane people, flashers, wild cards,” he said. “There’s the occasional heckler, but you can disarm them pretty easily.”

Troupe members might think they know what to expect from a certain audience, but just as often, they’re surprised.

“Sometimes you can tell what part of the country you’re in,” Murray said. “You play a casino in central California, and everyone’s in a trucker hat, both the men and the women.

“We went to Alabama pre-covid, and you have a preconception about Alabama, like they’re all hillbillies,” he said. “But we were in Huntsville and NASA is there. We were the dumb ones.

“What you have to remember about the audience is that, collectively, they’re smarter than you are.”

The Palace show starts at 7:30 p.m. Audience members must wear masks inside the building.

Tickets are $38-$52, available by calling 724-836-8000 or online at thepalacetheatre.org.

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