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In lieu of the Nutcracker or some other wholesome
holiday entertainment, I suggested that my family attend the
Brave New Workshop holiday show this past season, temporarily
forgetting that a few seasons prior, I had brought my little
sister to a show and commented that our parents would never really
appreciate this kind of humor. Well, the 5 of us attended and
while the 3 girls laughed non-stop, I gazed sideways at my somewhat
horrified parents as references to BJ’s and Brokeback Mountain
flew by. Thanks for many good shows & good times…even
if not everyone can handle it.
A few years ago, just after we all crawled out
of our shelters from Y2K, I brought a date to a BNW performance.
It was our first date - and she'd never been to the BNW before.
We sat down in our seats just off the stage near the piano and
awaited the start of the show. As I'm sitting there trying to
make small talk (and be funny, what better way to a girl's heart?)
I notice the large photo on the opposing wall. It is a close-up,
larger-than-life photo of a guy with his mouth spread wide
open, teeth exposed for all to see, like a huge Mr. Pac-Man.
If you've seen a show at the stage, you know the photo. Anyway,
I
casually mention to her, "I bet this place is a dental school
during
the day." She shoots me a curious glance, I point over at
the photo.
Her response? "Gosh, you'd think if they rent it out at
night to these people they could afford color photos!"
In 1970 I, a date, and another couple went to see a show at Dudley
Riggs' Brave New Workshop. We parked in the lot next door, not
seeing the no parking sign. After we were seated, an announcement
was made that a tow truck was towing from that lot. We ran out
to see our car being towed. They wouldn't give it back without
the full towing charge which we didn't have, so away the car went.
We went inside and tried to enjoy the show. After the show a neighbor,
also there to see the show, gave us all a ride to the tow lot,
six of us crammed into his little VW Beatle. The six of us pooled
all of our money and had just enough to spring the car, but none
of us had anything left for the rest of our evening. Not the best
date any of us ever had, but certainly an adventure.
My earliest memories of Duddley Riggs took place
at the ETC theatre in Seven Corners. My mom (Angie Flynn) was
in a couple of runs
of Dudley's "What's So Funny About Being Female." I
celebrated my 12th birthday at one of the performances -- Mary
Jo Pehl handed me the pencil that she used as a visual aid for
the final joke of her set (if men had babies). I got to shake
hands with Olympia Dukakis and Lily Tomlin (not at the same time).
And the chef at that time, John Dudy (i think) was amazing --
best fettuccini alfredo EVER. Good times. :)
One of my favorites was the night there was improv
afterwards, and they needed someone's name from the audience
to Google on
their laptop in an effort to prove nothing interesting shows
up... my name came up as some French soft-porn author. And to
make matters funnier, I was approached by some young dude after
the show who really thought I was that person. I simply
replied, "oui." Thank you Brave New Workshop for the
awesome memories and laughs!
The Irish Dancing in the Certified Xerox Repairman sketch.
The two solid minutes of silent physical comedy in the sketch
where a nervous kid (Eriq Nelson) comes to pick up his prom
date, and is told to wait with her disapproving father (Cedric
Yarbrough) in a room where the only thing to sit on is a bean
bag chair.
And my favorite: John Brady stepping out, setting a timer,
and asking the audience, “Questions?” The house
lights would come up and people would sit nervously laughing - sometimes
for the first of the timed two minutes - before realizing
that John would answer any question they asked.
I saw a lot of BNW shows between 1974 and 1978
in college, especially when my husband and I wrote WMMR Radio
commercials
for the theatre,
always in the style of the dialog in the show. The show commercial
that sticks in mind was (I think) for "Games People Cheat
At" and the line I
remember was a conciliatory "I was wrong, too."
My wife and I brought my parents to several Brave New Workshop
performances in the 80's when we lived in Uptown. Though my parents
didn't get all the locally inspired humor (they're from Milwaukee)
they laughed like crazy throughout the shows. When my wife and
I were at a show there this last February we looked at all of
the posters on the walls from previous shows and saw the ones
from the shows we'd been to in the past. It brought back great
memories. Thanks guys!
I remember the first time coming to the brave
new workshop at 16 years old. Me and a couple of my girlfriends
were coming down
to
Uptown for the first time with out the parentals. We did not
know what
to expect. I think the name of the show was "Saving Clinton's
Privates." And the major sketch I remember is one where
a guy came out
of the back in only a towel and his penis was hanging out of
the bottom
of it. You know a group of sheltered suburban teenagers were
whispering and talking about it for days. I've
been coming back ever since hoping to catch another glimpse but
always end up being shocked in some way.
My husband and I have always wanted to attend a comedy show and
remember seeing your theater when it was located by seven corners.
Our birthdays are about 3 weeks apart and this year, I was asking
my husband what he would like for his birthday. He answered that
he wanted to go to a
comedy club. So we researched on the internet the choices available in the Twin
Cities. Our three adult children now live in the Twin Cities, so they met us
for dinner, then sent us on our own to attend your show. We loved it! It was
so fun to see live comedy and we would have loved to return for the improv show
after the second show. We are now in our mid 50s and we had to see the first
show cuz it is too hard to stay up past 10 o'clock!!! Maybe one day we will return
to the improv at midnight!
I have been a fan for years. There have been
so many great skits, it's hard to remember. I did love the recent
one about losing Pluto
as a planet. I love the holiday one with the modified 12 days
of Christmas. An old one is about
the satellite/cable installer whose son wants to become a farmer
and not follow in
Dad's footsteps. Also love the improv portion. Some of the political
ones are great or where local events/people are used in the script.
Have never left without a smile and a review of the favorites
from the show.
It was preview weekend of, "Dull Man Running, or the Bush
Little Gore House in Texas," in the election season of 2000.
God, that seems like such a long time ago... Anyway, my mom and
I
are sitting in the theatre in Calhoun Square and there must have
been a leak in the roof/ceiling because some water came pouring
down on us. It wasn't too bad, but of course, management was
worried. I reassured them we were fine, and I was glad it was
us and not somebody else, since I already knew Sweeney and
the cast from being in improv classes. That show was by far the
best political show I ever saw at the BNW. The "Jesus Christ
Superstar" finale had me rolling in the aisles. I will always
treasure the memories I have of that show.