'Manitowoc Minute' guy Charlie Berens was real funny der at Turner Hall Ballroom comedy show

Oh my gosh, “Da Manitowoc Minute” sure is a knee-slapper, ain't it?

But could the weekly two-minute online video series work as an hourlong comedy show? 

Well sure guy. Comedian and “Minute” creator and star Charlie Berens kept the laughs movin’ at the first of a sold-out, two-night run at Turner Hall Ballroom Wednesday. 

First, a primer for any Wisconsinites who somehow overlooked “Minute” in their Facebook feeds. 

Elm Grove-born, Los Angeles-based Berens struggled with his Wisconsin accent as a broadcaster before doubling down for “Minute.” Launched in June and posted each Monday, each episode of the satirical news segment — stuffed with ridiculous Wisconsin-inspired phrases and an obligatory "(Expletive) the Bears” sign-off — has been streamed between 400,000 and 1.1 million times.

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That's made Berens a kind of viral sensation in his home state, complete with shirts featuring signature sayings like "Keep 'Er Movin" and "Geez Louise!" selling for $25 a pop on his website (manitowocminute.com). 

Wednesday was actually only Berens’ third stand-up show since creating “Minute.” Admittedly, it showed, with Berens tripping up during a few of his punchlines, and the show as a whole feeling patchy.

A strangely surreal imaginary conversation with a buck — complete with Berens as the deer singing a variation of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" that name-checked Lambeau Field and Mars Cheese Castle — didn't jell in the same show with more down-to-earth, tried-and-true "Minute"-style bits. 

That formula translated well live — no easy feat, considering how concisely edited and punchy each video is. 

Following a funny fake E! News segment that suggested Beyoncé was adopting Berens' trademark camouflage jacket style, and that he'd become a Perrier-sipping egomaniac partying hard with the Milwaukee Brewers racing sausages, Berens did an extended "Minute" on stage, riffing on headlines and holding a live "Craigslist Kicker" auction for musky bait. (Sold for $125, with the proceeds going to The Wounded Warrior Project.)

Feigning the show's finish after just eight minutes, Berens ran back on stage with new winning ways to rib Wisconsin life, and stereotypes, without a whiff of disdain.

He talked about how the state's unique terms are lost in translation elsewhere (suggesting, for instance, a "bubbler" was code for weed in Colorado), and paid respect to the letter "H," which he dropped too frequently saying words like "tree" instead of "three" and "da" instead of "the." 

He also screened his hit YouTube videos, pre "Minute," in which he dubbed over Titanic's doomed Jack Dawson with an ultra-thick Wisconsin accent, and shared an amusing video of his celebrity treatment experience at Lambeau this fall that simultaneously teased and honored Packers fandom. 

The affection behind the humor is the real reason "Minute" is so popular. Sure, the thick accent and only-in-Wisconsin punchlines get a lot of mileage, but it's Berens' good-natured, eager-to-please personality that makes the schtick stick. In one video screened Wednesday, Berens showed his admiration for the men and women in the military by comically failing a physical endurance test. 

That was a sweet bit, and so was a segment where he came out as "the real Charlie," and spoke in his normal voice (which, he joked, sounded like a Cubs fan). He talked for a few minutes about being one of 12 kids, and how his mother was a saint because she performed 12 miracles — by not trying to kill any them.

Soon after, Berens was back to being a cartoonish caricature. For now, his comic instinct is to "keep 'er movin" with lots of fast-moving punchlines, and that makes sense, because that approach has done well for him. 

But as he gets more confident, as a performer and a writer, I trust his fans will enjoy getting to know "the guy" behind "da guy." 

SAMPLE JOKES 

• "We can talk about this thing on my face. I'm not shaving for no-shave November, trying to grow a beard. But I did have to trim it a little bit because my neck was taking it more seriously than the rest of my face."
• "I remember going to the opening of the Milwaukee Zoo exhibits. And I just hope one day I can see my grandkids see the opening of the Milwaukee Zoo Interchange." 
• "Elton John took a picture with the Bronze Fonz, Miley Cyrus took a picture with the Bronze Fonz. Kevin Spacey tried taking a picture with the Bronze Fonz, but he got asked to leave for grabbing Henry by the Winkler." 
• "I thought I was going to be like the next Brian Williams. I'm talking about Brian Williams before he got caught lying about that whole war in Iraq situation. Side note: If you're going to be a lying sack of crap, why would you be a journalist? You could be a president."