Longtime Milwaukee comedian Ryan Lowe is hands down one of the funniest comics taking the stage in Milwaukee right now. While he could easily just get by on the intellectual absurdity he heaps into his stand-up act, he also takes his humor to less conventional places, including cinematic variety shows, the realm of D.I.Y. puppetry, and now to radio waves. Well, sort of.
As a callback to his days writing scripts for old time radio knockoffs—his introduction to comedy—Lowe has berthed the latest weapon in his eclectic arsenal of material, “Lone Wolf Comedy Radio Theatre.” The first episode premiered today. The 30-minute program is a throwback to yesteryear, with no shortage of bone dry sketches about everything from movie monsters at the DMV to an audio book reader struggling with the volume of his page-turning. There’s even a commercial for a focus group-approved 7/8th-pound Monster Burrito. (“It’s statistically delicious!”) Lowe is joined by the voices of close to 20 local comics, such as Josh Ballew, Tim Hunter, KC Michaelson, Suze Bischoff, and Tyler Menz. Kevin Macleod provided the show’s score.
Sure, the debut installment has its flaws—it’s not Frankenstein, it’s Frankenstein’s Monster!—but don’t all pilots have some problems? In all, this is a unique and whimsically weird contribution to Milwaukee’s comedy scene. Take a listen.