Crafted in the moment, improv sensation ‘Whose Live Anyway?’ lands in Anchorage

Truly a one-of-a-kind experience, each performance of the improv show “Whose Live Anyway?” is unique, crafted in the moment and heavily influenced by the audience’s energy.

Presented by the Anchorage Concert Association, the show arrives in Anchorage on Saturday with a 7:30 p.m. performance scheduled at the Atwood Concert Hall in the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts.

“Whose Live Anyway?” is a live stage performance based on the TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” One of the most well-known Improv shows, it started as a TV show in the UK and ran from 1988 to 1999. Afterward, the American TV version ran from 1998 to 2007 and was revived in 2013.

The four performers of “Whose Live Anyway” are Greg Proops, Jeff B. Davis, Dave Foley, and Joel Murray. The group take the show to Fairbanks on Friday before heading to Anchorage, completing their Alaska circuit.

Proops, 64 years old, has been a fan favorite on the TV show. He started his career in college nearly 45 years ago.

“I had never witnessed an improv performance before and one was happening at the cantina in our dorm,” Proops recalled. “So, I decided to check it out and thought to myself, ‘I could do this.’ The following week, I attended again, and during a segment where they invited an audience member to participate, I made sure to sit in the front and volunteered. Afterward, they invited me to join them.”

Since he never stopped, Proops is a busy man. When he is not improvising, he has his standup show, participates in films and other TV shows, does voice-over for video games, and has a podcast with his wife, Jennifer Canaga, titled “The Smartest Man In the World.”

So with decades of experience in the field, how difficult is it to truly improvise and not just recycle material?

“We try to do something new every night,” he said. “We don’t know the games ahead of time. We don’t know what we’ll do and we don’t know what will happen. But, of course, we know each other really well, and we have lots of rapport. We go out every night and work hard. A lot depends on the audience. We cannot plan for what they will bring.”

Proops believes the audience will enjoy the show because it will be based on local themes. He explained, “We do some research, we talk with people, we gather information, and we use it in the show.” Proops has good memories from the previous performance in Anchorage in 2019, pre-pandemic, and looks forward to facing another Alaskan improv night.

The Anchorage Concert Association is planning to continue the improv line. Next season they will bring “Broadway’s Next Hit Musical” to Anchorage.