Whatever happened to the Comedy Stage?

For nearly 20 years, Summerfest’s Comedy Pavilion hosted some of the biggest names in comedy. Comics like Jon Stewart and Lewis Black made frequent appearances on the now-defunct stage, the same stage where Weird Al Yankovic got standing ovations, where Jay Leno cleaned up his act for the afternoon crowd and where homegrown comics like Frank Caliendo and Will Durst cut their teeth, so to speak. And former driver-turned-stage-manager David ‘Punky’ Wastak got to see it all.

Today, Punky shares some of his favorite memories from nearly two decades behind the scenes and talks about the eventual downfall of comedy at the Big Gig. From reining in a few x-rated stand-up acts to watching up-and-comers make it to the big time, Punky has quite a few stories to tell.

Listen now:

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