Hennepin Theatre Trust buys iconic Brave New Workshop
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Updated: Dec. 6, 6:49 a.m. | Posted: Dec. 3, 5:49 p.m.
The Brave New Workshop now has only its third owner in more than 60 years. John Sweeney and Jenni Lilledahl, who bought the iconic comedy venue from founder Dudley Riggs in 1997, have sold it and its intellectual property to the Hennepin Theatre Trust. Both sides in the deal say preserving the Workshop’s legacy as a satirical comedy powerhouse is paramount.
Speaking on MPR in 1986, Riggs revealed the secrets he and the Brave New Workshop used to keep the audiences coming to political theater.
"Loyal opposition to both parties: promiscuous hostility, positive neutrality,” he said. “When we’re working at our most effective we will touch both conservative and liberal values and not necessarily offend either side because they always think we’re talking about the other guy.”
Riggs died last year, but his name is constantly invoked when the people involved in the deal talk about the significance of the workshop’s sale. Jenni Lilledahl is co-owner of the venue, though she's not entirely comfortable with her title.
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"I've always felt like nobody really owns the Brave New Workshop,” she said. "It's this artistic vision that Dudley held and we've all been taking care of it and expanding on it. Kind of like a good improv scene. Someone has an idea in improv and then your job is to say ‘Yes and’ and build on that."
Lilledahl says the idea was always to pass along the workshop when the time came. She and her husband, co-owner John Sweeney, decided that time was now, so Sweeney approached Hennepin Theatre Trust President and CEO Mark Nerenhausen.
The trust is a very different theatrical animal, but Sweeney liked the way it did business. It owns the State, Pantages and Orpheum theaters, big venues presenting Broadway Shows, musicians on international tours, and huge comedy stars. Pre-pandemic the theaters drew half a million people a year. But Nerenhausen says part of their mission is preservation, and that's what the Trust is going to do.
“Certainly preserving and perpetuating the legacy of not only an important Minnesota organization, but an organization that's had a profound impact nationally on theater, was important to us,” he said.
After all, this was where several young comedians learned the business before going on to a national stage, including one Al Franken.
The pandemic shut down the workshop, but Nerenhausen says he expects regulars won't notice much difference when it re-opens, which is scheduled to take place next year, because they plan to bring back the edgy material.
To that end, long-time artistic director Caleb McEwen is retaining his position. He says there are many details to resolve but he is excited about the resources and opportunities the trust will offer the workshop. Like Lilledahl, he says while the Brave New Workshop’s mission has remained fixed, its history has always been about flexibility and adaptability.
"I'm excited about the things that are going to remain the same. And I'm excited about the possibilities of things that could change too," he said.
McEwen says they’re looking at the situation from the perspective of the next 60 years, not the next 60 days. He's also looking forward to making smart, edgy comedy. And once again Riggs' name is invoked.
"Dudley used to say that he wanted people to laugh in the theater and fight in the car on the way home. And that's something that we've always tried to do," said McEwen.
With the midterms less than a year away, the catharsis of political satire may be much needed.
Correction (Dec. 6, 2021): A previous version of this story misstated the number of years the Brave New Workshop has had three owners.
