Spitfire Comedy House’s ‘Whose Line Is It Anyways? St. Pete Edition’ is not only the longest running comedy show in Tampa Bay, it’s also the most fun way to spend a night in the ‘Burg.

Well, that is, as long as you can get a seat.

For the past six years, the show has been putting local St. Pete comedians and big city professionals together on stage for an hour of hilarious improvised chaos. Based on the iconic television series of the same name, but in an intimate black box setting, the production often plays to a sold-out theater. One of the biggest reasons for the show’s popularity? It’s entirely inspired by the audience.

Audience-inspired improvised comedy

“It’s always exciting to see people be funny on the spot and making things up,” theater manager Hadas Cassorla said. “But what makes ‘Whose Line’ even more fun is that the show comes from the audience. It’s interactive. The scenes come from their suggestions, so they really are a part of the comedy.”

If you haven’t seen the original Whose Line Is It Anyways, the show consists of four performers who participate in short form improvised “games.” These games are essentially two to three minute scenes based on suggestions and rules given by the host or the in-studio audience. Spitfire’s St. Pete version operates in the same way, which means the audience gets an active role in creating their show.

For example, the host of the night may pull up two performers and state that these performers are in a “high-stakes scenario” or “celebrating a big event.” He/she will then turn to the audience and ask them what that situation may be, to which the audience may respond “diffusing a bomb!” to the first question, or “the birth of their first child!” to the second. Though we can’t guarantee exactly what information the host will request, we can guarantee that the suggestions from the residents of St. Petersburg, Florida never fail to be outrageous.

A simple, yet hilarious production

After each scene is completed, the audience gets further involved in the show by applauding based on how much they enjoyed the game. The host then converts the volume of their applause into a number of points and assigns those points to the players in the game. At the end of the night, the points are totaled to determine the winner(s) of the show.

So, recap of the audience’s jobs: 1. Give suggestions 2. Vote for who performed those suggestions the best.

It’s a pretty simple format, yet can be uproariously funny.

How to get tickets to ‘Whose Line St. Pete’

Now, before you go rushing off to Spitfire to catch ‘Whose Line,’ remember—the show often sells out, especially on Saturday evenings. Arriving at the box office the night of, therefore, is probably not the best way to catch a performance.

If you’re looking to snag a seat in the audience, here are the best ways to do it:

• Buy tickets in advance: Tickets to ‘Whose Line St. Pete’ are available at least three weeks ahead of time. If this weekend’s performance is sold out, then, theatergoers can likely find space in the next week’s show (or the one after). Tickets can be purchased here.

• Attend a Friday night performance: On Friday nights, Spitfire offers an “all-audience,” “family friendly” version of ‘Whose Line.’ This version isn’t any less funny, it’s just free of “religious and political topics,” as well as explicit language. In other words: You can bring your kids! You can bring your parents! You can bring the whole family! And, the best part? You can (probably) even get in this weekend, because the show is still pretty new.

• Watch another show in the meantime: In addition to ‘Whose Line,’ Spitfire’s got multiple other hilarious productions running each week. Looking for an improvised WWE wrestling match? They’ve got a show for that. An NCIS parody? Or a musical comedy? Those are coming up, too. To view this season’s full production schedule, click here.

Ready to laugh?

This is normally the part where we find some sort of well-written, witty way to pull our story together and reiterate our main ideas in order to get you, beloved St. Petersburg residents, to attend/visit the events and businesses we are recommending to you. With Spitfire, though, we’ll let the creatives do the talking.

So, buy your tickets ‘Burgers—and get your suggestions ready.

Spitfire Comedy House is located at 1920 1^st Ave S, near Tropicana Stadium. To purchase tickets or view the theater’s upcoming production schedule, click here.

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