"Big Christmas Energy" by Brave New Workshop at the Dudley Riggs Theatre

If you're looking for a laugh this season, Brave New Workshop is the surest bet for laughing until your face hurts. The longest running comedy theater in the nation is back with their annual holiday* show, which is always a favorite. Like years past, Big Christmas Energy is an irreverent look at everything surrounding the holidays, from awkward family interactions to weird Christmas songs. The uber talented five-person cast of BNW regulars has written about a dozen ridiculously funny sketches (with the help of director/host Caleb McEwen), and performs them with great energy and enthusiasm. There's a little something for everyone (except maybe children - leave them at home), music and nostalgia and double entendres. So if this holiday (or post-election) season has got you down, you might need some Big Christmas Energy in your life; laughing with a bunch of strangers in a room together has a healing effect. The show continues through January 31, with another holiday favorite Family Dinner (a long-form improv show that has run for decades, most recently at the dear departed HUGE Theater) playing in the first floor space at the Dudley Riggs Theatre Fridays and Saturdays in December.

"Love and Other Things that Ruined My Life" by Brave New Workshop at Dudley Riggs Theatre

Valentine's Day may be over, but Love and Other Things that Ruined My Life is timeless! Brave New Workshop's new sketch comedy show, which opened Valentine's Day weekend, pokes fun at love, relationships, breakups, and all things related (and not related). Unlike that four-letter word love, the longest running comedy theater in the country never lets you down with their silly, smart, relevant, and sometimes just plain goofy sketches performed by a fantastically funny cast. This show plays through May 18, after which they'll be bringing back their all-improv show It's Not the Heat It's the Stupidity this summer, featuring a rotating cast of local improvisors.

"All I Want for Christmas is You... to Elf Off!" by Brave New Workshop at the Dudley Riggs Theatre

Brave New Workshop's holiday* comedy sketch show is a favorite. And not just of mine; there were tons of groups, families, and people decked out in their best (or worst) holiday sweaters in the audience last night. The cast began the show by saying that this is the 65th holiday show (give or take) for one of the longest running comedy troupes in the nation. But despite the joke of that first sketch that every idea (even the most absurd) has been done before, they still managed to come up with some new, fresh sketches, along with some tried and true favorites. As you may guess from the title, All I Want for Christmas is You... to Elf Off, the show is an irreverent look at holidays and traditions, poking loving fun at the sometimes ridiculousness of this time of the year. But it stays true to the real meaning of the season - togetherness, community, and laughter. The show plays through January 27 so you have plenty of time to go celebrate with some holiday humor, by yourself or with a group of your favorite people (but I would not recommend bringing the children - spring for a babysitter or leave them with the grandparents, whom you also may not want to bring, depending on their sense of humor).

"It's Not the Heat, It's the Stupidity" by Brave New Workshop at the Dudley Riggs Theatre

The common refrain: "it's not the heat, it's the humidity" can be heard frequently in a Minnesota summer. For their newest clever title, Brave New Workshop is playing off of this phrase with It's Not the Heat, it's the Stupidity (which is perhaps even more true). The longest running comedy theater in the country is doing something different for the summer. Typically their shows feature written comedy sketches, followed by a short improv section at the end. For this show, it's all improv, all the time! As host (and "boss" as the performers referred to him) Caleb McEwen said, there are just too many stupid things happening right now, and this way they can react to all of them daily instead of having a static script. Although there wasn't a lot of current events in the show I saw (yours might be different), just a lot of hilarious, clever, and delightfully stupid comedy. Each week's cast is pulled from a large group of some of the best improvisers in town, truly making each show different. The show plays every Friday and Saturday at 7:30 through August 5 (plus occasional matinees - click here for details).

"The Best Christmas Show in Three Years" by Brave New Workshop at the Dudley Riggs Theatre

This spring, after a two year hiatus, the longest running sketch comedy troupe in the country went Back to the Workshop - the Brave New Workshop, that is. Now their annual holiday show is back for the first time in three years, and it's guaranteed to be The Best Christmas Show in Three Years. It may also be one of the best you see this year, especially if your tastes run more towards the salty than sweet side of things. This hilarious and lovable cast makes fun of all the silly things surrounding the holiday season, while still celebrating being together and laughing. Lots of laughing. It plays at the newly christened Dudley Riggs Theatre (honoring the founder of the company who passed away recently) in downtown Minneapolis through January 28. Click here for info and tickets.

"Back to Workshop; Or, Everything's Fine!" at Brave New Workshop

More than two years after they had to shut down due to a global pandemic (remember that?), Brave New Workshop, the longest running improv/sketch comedy troupe in the country, is finally back! Because everything's totally fine now, right?! In addition to everything we've all been through over the last two years, BNW also went through a transition; their founder Dudley Riggs died, and the company and theater space on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis was bought by the Hennepin Theatre Trust, which also oversees the historic Hennepin Avenue theaters - Orpheum, State, and Pantages. The first show coming out of this new partnership, Back to Workshop; Or, Everything's Fine!, is business as usual for BNW. The business being hilariously funny, smart, and topical satire, and just all around silly comedy entertainment. If you're having a tough time transitioning to this new world (and who isn't?!), Back to Workshop will help you feel not so alone in that, and maybe even help you process things or look at them in a new light. But mostly, you'll just have a really great time. Workshop plays weekends (Fridays and Saturdays, plus some Thursdays) through August 6.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2018: "The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist or, Ocean's 'Eh'T?: A Musical"

Day: 1

Show: 2

Title: The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist or, Ocean's 'Eh'T?: A Musical

Category: Comedy / Musical Theater / Original Music

By: Literally Entertainment

Created by: Literally Entertainment Productions

Location: Mixed Blood Theatre

Summary: A musical spoof of the real life event in which $18 million worth of maple syrup was stolen in Canada.

Highlights: If you've seen any of their past shows, you know what to expect from Literally Entertainment (music and lyrics by Kyle DeGoey, book and direction by Travis Carpenter). Funny and clever songs, a silly and fun story, and enthusiastic performances by the winning cast. This one also features a good old fashioned heist and plenty of Canadian humor (they're so polite, they drink beer, they wear plaid, they speak in funny accents). While the lengthy plot explanation at the end of the show is a bit confusing and goes by too fast to make sense, it's a fun and very fringey musical. And there's a moose! Oh Canada, we love you (and we kind of wish we were you).

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Musical Mondays" at Hell's Kitchen, May 2016

If you don't already know about Musical Mondays at Hell's Kitchen, well, you're hopelessly out of the local musical theater loop. This monthly cabaret series started about three and a half years ago and is still going strong. It's the best place to catch local music-theater talent in an informal environment. The theme of the 38th Musical Mondays last night was "The Lusty Month of May" and featured a fantastic cast of six, plus the ever charming hosts Sheena Janson and Max Wojtanowicz. I once again attended with some of my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers including bloggers from One Girl, Two Cities, Minnesota Theater Love, The Room Where it Happens, American Underground, and Compendium. As usual, a great time was had by all!

"Some Assembly Required" by Theater Latte Da at the Lab Theater

In the second production of Theater Latte Da's series NEXT: New Musicals in the Making, there is Some Assembly Required. That assembly is done in front of the audience's eyes and with their help by comedy/music/theater/improv experts Jill Bernard, Madde Gibba (who, sadly, did not perform the night I saw the show due to weather-related travel difficulties), Brian Kelly, Doug Neithercott, and Michael Ritchie, with improvised musical accompaniment by Todd Price. The result is a fun, silly, and surprisingly cohesive one-of-a-kind musical.

The show begins with a text solicited from someone in the audience. For the show I saw, this text was "do you know anyone who could sell us a used pontoon?" (only in Minnesota, right?). The cast then ran with the theme of "used pontoon," which is actually a pretty cool title of a musical. I can just see the marquee: Used Pontoon: The Musical (the ubiquitous tag added so that people don't think it's a watercraft sale). Three of the performers made up a song on the spot, ranging from sad ("I feel as useless as a used pontoon," my personal favorite)  to spirited (building an army and overthrowing a dictator on a used pontoon). The audience voted and chose the latter as the basis of the musical. And so the show begins.

The cast created scenes and characters and slowly built a plot that mostly made sense, sort of. The Russian generalissimo living in a castle tower is planning to conquer the small village lying at the foot of the tower, as a present for his wife. The scrappy townspeople gather together to find the generalissimo's weakness and stop him from destroying their little town. There are secrets, betrayals, acts of bravery, a recurring theme of earthworms, a love story, and a really awkward Dallas Buyers Club reference. All of it made up on the spot, although the cast did have time to converse and plan for Act II during the short intermission. It's really remarkable to watch them create something brand new and entertaining right before your eyes. But remember, these are professionals, don't try this at home!

One final performance of this music-theater experiment remains, which will differ slightly from the two previous performances in that they will take the best bits from each and put them together in a somewhat planned, although still improvised, musical. If you're free tonight - check it out for a one-of-a-kind music-theater experience.