Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood to Play Comedy Cabaret, 10/5

Artists must suffer for their pain, but should it involve a stage full of primed mousetraps?

Yes, if the artists are improv industry giants Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood of Who's Line Is It Anyway? fame. The untrappable duo will perform in a Comedy Cabaret at Jorgensen on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013, at 8 p.m.; doors to the cash-only cabaret with food and drink will open at 7 p.m.

Canadian Mochrie and Chicagoan Sherwood have toured theaters, campuses and corporate events as the "Two Man Group" in the last decade with their razor-edge, rapid-fire humor. They star in the new primetime sketch comedy show, Drew Carey's Improv-a-Ganza, on the Game Show Network, have appeared in "Improv All-Stars" in Las Vegas and came out with their DVD Two Man Group: Live and Dangerous Comedy in 2011. Due to the overwhelming popularity of Whose Line Is it Anyway?, Mochrie and Sherwood can be caught performing 15 times a week or more on Comedy Central and ABC Family.

Their show offers a blend of spontaneity and smart humor and invites audience members to join in all the improv games. Sketches might include "Sound FX" and "One Word Expert." Their antics are unscripted except for categories, words and themes culled from the audience. The one bit they say is perhaps more scripted, given the number of times they've done it, is the one with the mousetraps. Mochrie and Sherwood engage in improvisational play as they wander around a stage of set traps - blindfolded.

In a recent Man Cave Daily interview, Sherwood said performing live vs. on TV gives them more ways of interacting with the audience and bringing a few of them onstage to participate in skits. "You're constantly in a state of 'Oh God, what are they going to do and what am I going to do with it?'" he says.

Given the state of stand-up these days, you may ask, is this appropriate for kids? Mochrie and Sherwood address this on an FAQ page in their press kit, saying they've had 8- to 10-year-olds in their audience with no complaints from parents, but warn they cannot control audience suggestions and parents should make their judgment call "based on your own child's sensitivities to bald men."

Jorgensen's Cabaret was designated "Best Cabaret" in Connecticut Magazine's "Best of Connecticut" issues, 2011-13. Jorgensen was also named Best College/University Performing Arts Center in the Hartford Advocate Best of Hartford Readers' Poll for 2012 and 2013.

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Doors open at 7 p.m. Sandwiches, dessert, alcohol and other beverages can be purchased before the show (cash only). Or pre-orders can be placed at www.jorgensen.uconn.edu. Ticket prices are $60 for table seats, $51, $44 and $40, with some discounts available. For tickets and information, call the Box Office at 860.486.4226, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., or order online at jorgensen.uconn.edu. Convenient, free parking is available across the street in the North Garage.