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Brave New Workshop's Best-Of Retrospective

08 January 2008

Theater Family Attractions Events Downtown Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – January 8, 2008 – The Brave New Workshop Comedy Theatre is proud to announce a special best-of retrospective show in celebration of the legendary comedy theatre’s 50th anniversary. The Brave New Workshop at 50: Old Enough to Know Better will feature the best, most beloved sketches and songs from the Brave New Workshop's 50-year catalog of comedy, along with backstage stories and hilarious historical tidbits. The Brave New Workshop at 50: Old Enough to Know Better begins previews on Friday, February 8th, and opens with a special performance for VIP guests, Workshop alumni, and the Twin Cities theatre community on Saturday, February 23rd. All performances take place at the Brave New Workshop theatre in Uptown Minneapolis.

The Brave New Workshop at 50: Old Enough to Know Better will highlight sketches from years gone by, along with recent favorites, touching on the topics Workshop regulars are used to seeing: politics, religion, sex and relationships, and pop culture. In addition, a mockumentary-style look back at the Workshop's 50 years in Minneapolis will be interspersed throughout. This comic celebration will offer longtime Brave New Workshop fans a chance to revisit favorite moments from past shows, while providing a perfect entry point for those theatergoers who are new to the Workshop’s brand of satirical sketch comedy.

Brave New Workshop Artistic Director Caleb McEwen stresses that The Brave New Workshop at 50: Old Enough to Know Better will be the event of a lifetime for comedy fans. Explains McEwen, “It’s a collection of all the sketches that got the biggest laughs over the years, so it's fair to say this will be the funniest show in the Twin Cities in five decades.”

The cast of The Brave New Workshop at 50: Old Enough to Know Better will feature the performers from the hit shows YouCube: This Company Loves Misery and Stuck in the Manger With You: Lauren Anderson, Joe Bozic, Josh Eakright, Mike Fotis, and Ellie Hino. The current crop of Brave New Workshop talent will be joined by newcomer Bobby Gardner. Technical direction will be provided by Jessica Fillbrandt, and longtime Brave New Workshop piano man Peter Guertin will supply the Workshop’s signature musical sound. The show is directed by Caleb McEwen.

Originally formed as the Instant Theatre Company in New York City, the Brave New Workshop is the creation of Dudley Riggs, a former Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus aerialist. The original Instant Theatre cast, drawn from the circus and vaudeville, used audience input to create their comic sketches spontaneously with minimal props and scenery. After a national tour, the Instant Theatre Company found a permanent home in Minneapolis in 1958. In 1961, the Brave New Workshop name was added, and in 1965, the Workshop moved to its current location in a converted print shop at 2605 Hennepin Avenue. In 1997 Dudley Riggs passed his theatre along to a new generation of owners, John Sweeney, Jenni Lilledahl and Mark Bergren (who left his ownership post and the BNW in 1999 to pursue other interests). In a remarkable demonstration of theatrical endurance and continuity, the Workshop has continued to write, perform and produce all-original sketch comedy and improvisation revues on a year-round basis, and the theatre’s legendary improv and sketch comedy can still be enjoyed nearly every night of the week at the storefront theatre on Hennepin Avenue.

The Brave New Workshop at 50: Old Enough to Know Better is compiled from past Brave New Workshop shows, with additional material written by Caleb McEwen and the cast. Performed by Lauren Anderson, Joe Bozic, Josh Eakright, Mike Fotis, Bobby Gardner, and Ellie Hino. Directed by Caleb McEwen. Music Direction and keyboards by Peter Guertin. Technical Direction by Jessica Fillbrandt. Previews ($15) run Fridays Feb. 8th, Feb. 15th, and Feb. 22nd @ 8pm; Saturdays Feb. 9th and Feb. 16th @ 7pm and 10 pm. Opening night ($29) is Saturday, February 23rd. This production runs Fridays (8pm, $23) and Saturdays (7pm and 10pm, $25-$23), with Thursday performances March 6th - April 17th (8pm, $23). Closes May 17th. Tickets can be purchased at www.bravenewworkshop.org or by calling (612) 332-6620.

For more information, images, or to schedule cast appearances/interviews, please contact Erin Farmer at 612-332-6620, or erin@bravenewworkshop.com. Show images are also available for viewing/download at http://www.bravenewworkshop.org/mediaimages.htm.

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LISTINGS SUMMARY:
The Brave New Workshop at 50: Old Enough to Know Better
Where: The Brave New Workshop Theatre, 2605 Hennepin Avenue South in Uptown, Minneapolis
When: Previews ($15) Friday, Feb. 8th @ 8pm, Saturday Feb. 9th @ 7 and 10pm, Friday, Feb. 15th @ 8pm, Saturday Feb. 16th @ 7 and 10pm, and Friday Feb. 22nd @ 8pm. Opening Night ($29) is Saturday Feb. 23rd @ 8pm. Closes Saturday, May 17th.
Regular Run: Fridays @ 8pm ($23), Saturdays @ 7pm ($25) and Saturdays @ 10pm ($23). Thursdays Mar. 6 – Apr. 17 @ 8pm ($23).
For Tickets: Book online at www.bravenewworkshop.com or by calling (612) 332-6620.
Media contact: Erin Farmer at erin@bravenewworkshop.com or 612-332-6620.

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About the Brave New Workshop (BNW):
The Brave New Workshop has been writing, performing and producing sketch comedy and improvisation since 1958-- longer than any other theatre in the United States. Founded by former circus performer Dudley Riggs and currently owned by husband and wife John Sweeney and Jenni Lilledahl, the little storefront theatre on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis has become a legendary comedy institution, where audiences enjoy improv and sketch comedy nearly every night of the week. The company’s talented performers create satirical, irreverent, and intelligent original works. Alums of the Workshop stage include Louie Anderson, Pat Proft, Al Franken, Tom Davis, Mo Collins ("Mad TV"), Peter MacNichol ("Ally McBeal", “24”), Melissa Peterman ("Reba"), and Cedric Yarborough ("Reno 911", “The Boondocks”). The Brave New Workshop’s corporate services division trains and entertains companies like Microsoft, Yahoo!, Visa, and Target. Additionally, the Brave New Institute school of improvisation boasts the most comprehensive improv training curriculum in the country.

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For more information contact: Erin Farmer, erin@bravenewworkshop.com/612-332-6620