Interview The Midnite Show celebrates 10 years of improv comedy mayhem

Not many comedy groups are a success from day one, and even fewer can sustain that success for a decade. The Midnite Show (a.k.a. Cock ’N’ Toast) has defied convention, and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. What began as a twice-monthly experiment grew until audience size demanded weekly shows beginning in 2005. There has been little turnover over the years (there are nine core members in all), and those who have left include such nationally recognized faces as Eric Price (MADtv, Reno 911!) and Dave Theune (HBO’s Funny Or Die). The A.V. Club sat down with founding members Bill Bartell and Tim Higgins to chat about a decade of success, why they’ve stuck around, and how they’ve done it without Twitter.

The A.V. Club: How did The Midnite Show start? Did you see a void in the comedy scene, or did you just want to work blue?

Bill Bartell: Eric Price was the one who started it. The Dead Alewives were defunct for about two years, and so the original five of us wanted to do something new.

Tim Higgins: I did it to work with the same group of guys all the time, people I’ve known for years, instead of not knowing who you’re going to work with every week like it is in ComedySportz. This is a set cast.

BB: It was also the best of the ComedySportz guys, to be honest. And with The Midnite Show, we could take on other more mature topics. But we didn’t do it just because we wanted to swear. The crowd swears way more than we do. It’s like a group catharsis.

TH: Some of the audiences are getting a little too crude. And too creative. Like, “Okay, you’re raping a unicorn, but you’re discussing Soviet-era politics.” Soviet-era politics? Can we just move on to the next raping thing?

The Midnite Show: 10-year Anniversary from Mark Malenius on Vimeo.

AVC: The Midnite Show has never been very active in social media or promoting itself through mainstream channels. To what do you attribute your success?

BB: I think in the beginning we were the only game in town. Nobody was doing improv like this. There was this vibe of, “You gotta see this!” You know when you first find out about a band and tell everyone, “You gotta hear these guys!” And you would go see them live, and it felt like you were in on something. I think that’s how it was in the beginning. It’s at midnight, nobody really knows about it. The crowd was really into it, and it was crazy. And it’s stayed that way. Because it’s still at midnight, and we’ve kept it five dollars. So it’s still the “you gotta see this” thing.

TH: We’re still drawing a crowd 10 years later because you’ll see good shit. Because after being together for 10 years, we’re all confident people, and proud of what we do.

BB: And we still tell the crowd at the end of every show, “If you liked it, tell a friend.” And it really is about quality. You do something good, and people will come to it. None of us are luddites or technophobes, but we’ve been doing “tell somebody” for so long that Facebook, Twitter—I don’t know if that would help us or hurt us. For us, it would just be like, “We’re at the Landmark. Matt’s high.”

AVC: A few of the guys have found success in L.A., a couple have left due to personal reasons. Why have you two stayed in Milwaukee, and why have you stuck with The Midnite Show?

TH: There are plenty of guys doing the L.A. thing. I’m happy being one of very few people in town who looks like me, or acts like me. I don’t really want to dive into L.A. where there are maybe 80 other Tim Higginses.

BB: I never really had a desire to act. I like being a comedian. And I love that we do this one show a week. I love that different people come to it. Half the crowd is always good.

TH: Our crowd is great: no demographic, 18-50, every ethnic background. We’re equal opportunity offenders.

BB: It can get to be a grind—every Saturday at midnight—but I never regret going and doing it.

AVC: What can we expect for the 10th anniversary shows?

BB: We’re trying to fly everybody in, so all nine guys will hopefully be there, along with a couple of guests who have performed with us over the years who are just a blast. Sean McKenna, from Minneapolis, who was one of the original Alewives. And Cynthia Melewski, who hosts Cash Cab in Chicago. Two of our favorites.

TH: We wanted to do something special for our fans. Eric will be there, and he’s still got a huge fanbase here. It’s gonna be a blast.

AVC: Will The Midnite Show still be going 10 years from now?

TH: If we’re still going in 2021, hopefully we’re bigger than just Milwaukee.

BB: Yeah, I wanna franchise this mother out. You know, when we first started, I told Eric Price I wanted to put on the show for 10 years. Now it’s 10 years later, and we did it. What’s next? I retire with a bullet tomorrow.

The Midnite Show’s 10th Anniversary takes place on Sept. 23 and 24 at midnight, 420 S. 1st St. Tickets are $10 if you call 414-272-8888 to reserve a seat, and $15 at the door (cash only).