AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA AND MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO PRESENT THE FALL SEASON OF WITS
Aug 21, 2014
American Public Media (APM) and Minnesota Public Radio® (MPR) present the fall 2014 season of Wits, featuring brilliant comedians, storytellers and actors along with beloved indie musicians. This fall's shows will include Keegan-Michael Key, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Hari Kondabolu, Colin Hanks, OK Go, Father John Misty, My Brightest Diamond, Jeremy Messersmith, and many more.
This fall, Wits is taking a road trip before its fall season in its home state. After a SOLD-OUT show with Jim Gaffigan, Reggie Watts and Thao Nguyen at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon, Wits will do its first-ever show at the Guthrie Theater on Sunday, September 28, in Minneapolis with the Emmy-nominated actor Colin Hanks and Father John Misty. On October 3, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University Fine Arts Programming will present Wits featuring the very funny Maria Bamford and singer/songwriter Jeremy Messersmith. On October 24, Wits will return to the Fitzgerald Theater for The Great Wits/Thrilling Adventure Hour Crossover featuring Paul F. Tompkins and Paget Brewster (Thrilling Adventure Hour's Frank and Sadie Doyle), special comedy guest "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Old 97's frontman Rhett Miller.
Other shows at the Fitzgerald Theater feature the Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), award-winning author and storyteller Neil Gaiman, Brooklyn-based comedian Hari Kondabolu, indie rockers OK Go, and the critically acclaimed musicians My Brightest Diamond and Bhi Bhiman.
Performers join host John Moe for unconventional conversation, comedy, stories, sketches and songs. Wits provides experiences audiences can get nowhere else as they re-discover a favorite artist by seeing them in a new light or are exposed to a new talent they've never heard of. As always, the fans play an integral role in the success of Wits each year. The Wits Social Club is back in action with special offers and parties. For $35 fans can renew or sign up to join the Wits Social Club for both fall and spring season live shows (expires June 30, 2015), which has the following benefits:
Buy Tickets Early! Wits Social Club members can buy tickets for shows this fall starting Thursday, September 4th, at our Happy Hour Party (see Happy Hour Party details below). Can't make the party? No problem! Individuals in the Wits Social Club will be the only people who can buy tickets to Wits at the Fitzgerald Theater and to the special "Wits at the Guthrie Theater" performance until September 9, when the general public can get in on the action (Guthrie Theater subscribers will also have early access to tickets to the 9/28 show as well as the same 10% discount) 10 Percent Discount on up to four tickets per show at the Fitzgerald Theater and the 9/28 Wits show at the Guthrie Theater (in addition to the Season Package discount, if applicable).
Other exclusive rewards will be announced throughout the year (last year, Social Clubbers got backstage tours, they got to sing on stage with Yo La Tengo, they got personally serenaded by Old 97s frontman Rhett Miller, and we treated some of them to bowling and a baseball game. We're excited to drum up new experiences this year).
Wits continues to expand its reach as a weekly radio show and now can be heard on over 125 public radio stations across the nation, including Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Nashville, Austin, Portland, and more. Wits airs weekly on MPR News, Saturday nights at 8 p.m., Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m. and on 89.3 The Current, Sunday nights at 9 p.m. To get the latest updates on everything Wits, follow @wits on Twitter and visit it on Facebook, as well as sign up for the Wits newsletter on witsradio.org.
The Wits podcast is available every week on iTunes, Soundcloud and witsradio.org.
TICKETS: Wits Social Club Happy Hour: On Thursday, September 4, from 4-7 p.m., the Fitzgerald Theater will open its doors for a Wits happy hour. People who have renewed or are newly signed up for the Wits Social Club will be able to buy tickets, in person only, at the happy hour. Visit witsradio.org to find out how to join the Wits Social Club. Fans can also join the Wits Social Club on site at the happy hour.
John Moe and other Wits friends will be in the house along with Current DJ Barb Abney who will be spinning tunes.
Phone Sales: Tickets will be available to members in the Wits Social Club starting at noon, on Friday, September 5. Call the Box Office at (651) 290-1200. (Regular Box Office hours T-F, Noon-5 p.m.) General public ticket sales: Tickets are available for the general public starting Tuesday, September 9.
Ticket prices: For single shows, general admission is $29 and reserved seating is $45. Additional fees may apply. Ticket buyers can save $5 off each ticket when purchasing the season ticket package for all four Fitzgerald Theater shows. Single and season ticket packages are available at the Fitzgerald Box Office via phone or in person as well as online.
WHERE: The Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul
WHEN: All shows at the Fitzgerald Theater start at 8 p.m. CST, but the party starts at 7 p.m. as a Current DJ rocks the house for the Tweet-up. Happy hour drink specials will be available from 7 to 8 p.m. The show at the Guthrie Theater starts at 7 p.m. CST (doors at 6:30 p.m.), and the show at the College of St. Benedict starts at 7:30 p.m. (doors at 7:00 p.m.).
Continue for specific show dates and details about the guests. Photos available upon request.
Wednesday, September 10: Wits featuring Jim Gaffigan, Reggie Watts and Thao Nguyen at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, OR - SOLD OUT SHOW
Jim Gaffigan is a Grammy nominated Comedian, New York Times Best Selling author, top touring performer, and multi-platinum selling father of five. His fourth and most recent hour special ("Beyond the Pale" 2006, "King Baby" 2009, "Mr. Universe" 2012), "Obsessed" charted #1 on iTunes which gives Gaffigan five albums in the Top 25 Comedy category on iTunes. In May of 2013, Gaffigan's first book 'Dad is Fat' debuted at #5 on the New York Time's Bestseller's List and remained on the list for 17 weeks after. Gaffigan has had breakout guest appearances on many comedies and dramas ranging from "Portlandia" to HBO's cult hits "Flight of the Conchords" and "Bored to Death" to dramatic roles in all three versions of "Law & Order". In recent years, Gaffigan has also become a mainstay on the big screen with memorable roles in "Going the Distance", "Away We Go" and "It's Kind of a Funny Story." Further broadening his career, he starred in his first Broadway production, "That Championship Season." He is currently on a 50-city national tour called Jim Gaffigan: The White Bread Tour.
Blending and blurring the lines between comedy and music with his unique lyrical style, LA Weekly calls Reggie Watts "the most wildly inventive new talent of the past five years." As a solo performer, Reggie was crowned "Hot Comedian" by Rolling Stone, named SPIN Magazine's "Best New Comedian" and "Best of CMJ" 2010, and a featured profile in GQ's Man of the Year issue 2010. Reggie's most recent release 'A Live at Central Park' is currently available on CD/DVD through Comedy Central Records and on iTunes. On screen, Reggie has appeared on Conan, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, HBO's The Yes Men Save the World, Comedy Central's Michael and Michael Have Issues, Iceland TV, UK's Funny or Die, PBS' Electric Company, and currently stars as house band leader on the IFC original series Comedy Bang! Bang! with Scott Aukerman.
Thao Nguyen, who grew up in Falls Church, VA, first picked up a guitar at the age of 12. She spent most of her 20s touring, supporting one critically acclaimed album after another, while working with Andrew Bird, Mirah, and Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, amongst others. She's also spent time advocating for those incarcerated in the SF county jail and CA state prison system. Sunday, Sept 28: Wits at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis featuring Colin Hanks and Father John Misty It's our first-ever collaboration with the Guthrie Theater, and we couldn't be more excited to do a show in this beautiful theater with these amazing guests.
Colin Hanks has quickly become one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors. His natural talent and raw energy have secured him a place as one of Hollywood's young leading men. Colin was nominated for an Emmy and the Critics Choice Television Awards for his role in FX's critically acclaimed mini-series "Fargo." Prior to "Fargo," Colin made several memorable guest appearances on the popular crime series "NCIS," "Burning Love," and the Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning series', "Dexter" and "Mad Men." On the silver screen, he was most recently seen in the historical drama Parkland and The Guilt Trip alongside Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand, and he recently wrapped production on No Stranger than Love, a romantic comedy with Alison Brie and Justin Chatwin.
Josh Tillman has been recording/releasing solo albums since 2003 and drummed for Fleet Foxes for four years. In 2012, he released the critically acclaimed album Fear Fun under the name Father John Misty. The album consists of such disparate elements as Waylon Jennings, Harry Nilsson, Arthur Russell, "All Things Must Pass," and "Physical Graffiti," often within the same song. Lyrically, his absurdist fever dreams of pain and pleasure elicit, in equal measures, the blunt descriptive power of Bukowski or Brautigan, the hedonist-philosophy of Oscar Wilde and the dried-out wit of Loudon Wainwright III.
Friday, October 3: College of Saint Benedict/ Saint John's University Fine Arts Programming presents Wits featuring Maria Bamford and Jeremy Messersmith (Tickets are on sale now)
Maria Bamford is the creator and star of Maria Bamford: the special, which Vulture.com named one of the Top 10 Stand-Up Specials of 2012, and of the cult hit web series The Maria Bamford Show, which screened at the Museum of Art and Design and was described as a "cold blast of brilliance" by The New Yorker. Maria recurred on the Netflix reboot of Arrested Development, for which she was praised as "fantastic" (Entertainment Weekly) a "standout" (TIME) and "perhaps one of the high points of the entire new season" (Black Book Magazine). She also recurred on FX's critically-praised Louie and stars on the upcoming USA sitcom Benched. Maria currently contributes comedic voiceovers for such animations as Cartoon Network's Adventure Time, PBS's Emmy-winning series Word Girl, Nickelodeon's Kung Fu Panda and Legend of Korra, and Netflix's upcoming Puss in Boots. Her latest CD, Ask Me About My New God! was named one of top five CD's of 2013 by Entertainment Weekly. Maria recently won the American Comedy Award for Best Club Comic. Jeremy Messersmith is a Singer-Songwriter from Minneapolis who rose to National prominence on his last album "The Reluctant Graveyard", he's just releases a follow up album called "Heart Murmurs" on the prestigious Glassnote Records, where in addition to Jeremy their small roster includes Mumford & Sons, Childish Gambino, and Phoenix. Jeremy recently had 2 Sold-Out release shows at First Avenue in Minneapolis and has been touring Internationally off the album.
Friday, October 24: The Great Wits/Thrilling Adventure Hour Crossover featuring special comedy guest "Weird Al" Yankovic, Paul F. Tompkins, and Paget Brewster with music guest Rhett Miller of the Old 97's
The Thrilling Adventure Hour is a staged show in the style of old time radio, Eisner-nominated graphic novel from Archaia/Boom! Studios, Nerdist podcast (a favorite of Rolling Stone), Nerdist web series, highly anticipated concert film... The Thrilling Adventure Hour is a new take on old-time radio in which actors you know and love from television, comedy, animation, and film dress nicely and enact all manner of genre-based comedy segments - and has become a cult phenomenon. It's currently featured as "Best Live Podcast" in Los Angeles Magazine's 2014 "Best of LA"
Few would have guessed that "Weird Al" Yankovic, who as a shy, accordion-playing teenager got his start sending in homemade tapes to the Dr. Demento Radio Show, would go on to become the biggest-selling comedy recording artist in history with over 12 million album sales. Now in his fourth career decade, he has won 3 Grammys (with 14 nominations) and countless awards and accolades for Weird Al classics like "Eat It," "Like a Surgeon," "Fat," "Smells Like Nirvana," "Amish Paradise" and "The Saga Begins." Weird Al released his 14th studio album Mandatory Fun on July 15th, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart. The album features parodies of some of the biggest hits of the past year, including Pharrell Williams' "Happy" ("Tacky"), Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" ("Word Crimes"), Lorde's "Royals" ("Foil"), Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" ("Handy") and Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" ("Inactive"). Weird Al, along with his band of over three decades, has performed thousands of live rock and comedy multimedia shows throughout the world, and will be back on the road in 2015 for The Mandatory Tour.
Paul F. Tompkins is one of the most charming, quick-witted and popular comedians on the scene. Tompkins has recorded four stand-up specials for Comedy Central, and hosts the "Speakeasy" web series as well as the Fusion show "No, You Shut Up!". Tompkins is an Emmy-nominated writer for "Mr. Show with Bob and David," and has appeared in movies including "There Will Be Blood" and "the Informant!" His most recent comedy albums include "Freak Wharf" and "Laboring Under Delusions."
Paget Brewster can be found on Comedy Central's "Drunk History", as Special Agent Emily Prentiss on the CBS crime drama "Criminal Minds", and various voices on "American Dad", "The Venture Bros." and "Dan Vs.". Brewster first came to attention in her recurring role as Kathy, Joey's girlfriend (and later Chandler's) on NBC's "Friends." She was a regular on "Andy Richter Controls The Universe" and starred as Beth Huffstodt in the Showtime series "Huff." Paul and Paget are Thrilling Adventure Hour's Frank and Sadie Doyle.
Rhett Miller is the front man and main songwriter for alt-country favorites the Old 97's, as well as a solo artist critically -acclaimed for his clever word play and pop song-smithing. His music has appeared in movies like "The Break-Up" and TV shows like "Scrubs," and Rhett himself has appeared on "30 Rock." He's also written for Rolling Stone, McSweeney's and The Atlantic. His latest solo album is "The Dreamer," and the latest Old 97's album is "Most Messed Up." Saturday, November 8: Wits featuring Neil Gaiman and My Brightest Diamond Neil Gaiman is the bestselling author of books for adults and children. The recipient of many awards, his works have been adapted for film, television, stage and radio. Some of Neil's most notable titles include The Graveyard Book (the first book to ever win both the Newbery and Carnegie medals), American Gods and 2013's UK National Book Award's Book of the Year, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. 2 million people follow him on Twitter. Born in the UK, he now lives in the US with his wife, the musician and writer, Amanda Palmer.
Shara Worden's voice and arresting live performances have left audiences thunderstruck from the Sydney Opera house to Lincoln Center to the House of Blues. She's performed under the experimental-pop moniker My Brightest Diamond for the last seven years, and counts Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dressner (The National), The Decemberists, Bon Iver, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson among collaborators and friends. Her latest album, out September16, is titled This is My Hand.
Friday, November 14: Wits featuring Hari Kondabolu with OK Go
Hari Kondabolu is a Brooklyn-based, Queens-raised comic who has been described by Timeout NY as "smart, analytical and rising." He has done standup on the Late Show with David Letterman, Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live, John Oliver's New York Standup Show and was a writer and correspondent on the Chris Rock-produced FX Show "Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell." He has also been interviewed on WTF with Marc Maron and NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. He recently released his debut comedy album "Waiting for 2042" on indie label Kill Rock Stars.
OK Go (Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka, Andy Ross) have spent their career in a steady state of transformation since they formed as a quartet in Chicago in 1998, and relocated to Los Angeles three years later. The four songs of the all-new Upside Out EP represent the first preview of Hungry Ghosts, due out in the fall on the band's own Paracadute. Continuing a career that includes viral videos, New York Times op-eds, a major label split and the establishment of a DIY trans-media mini-empire, collaborations with pioneering dance companies and tech giants, animators and Muppets, OK Go continue to fearlessly dream and build new worlds in atime when creative boundaries have all but dissolved. Friday, November 21: Wits featuring Keegan-Michael Key with Bhi Bhiman
Keegan-Michael Key is best known for starring in the Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning Comedy Central series Key & Peele. He got his start in comedy at Second City Detroit, and later moved on to their Chicago company where he received awards for his writing and performance. While still in Chicago, Key made the jump to TV, starring in Fox's MADtv for six seasons, and scoring reoccurring roles on shows like RENO 911!, FX's Fargo, and USA Network's Playing House. Key can also be seen on the big screen in movies including Role Models, Due Date, and Just Go With It, Let's be Cops, as well as the upcoming Horrible Bosses 2.
Bhi Bhiman, a St. Louis, Missouri native, is an American original. His rich, bellowing tenor can soothe or explode at a moment's notice, inviting comparisons from Nina Simone to Bill Withers. And his songwriting is quick to captivate - a mix of humor and deep empathy reminiscent of distinguished songsmiths like Woody Guthrie and Randy Newman. His self-released debut album, BHIMAN, was hailed by critics in the New York Times, Washington Post, and NPR's Bob Christgau. It also earned him the distinction of being one of the only unsigned artists to ever appear on Britain's "Later w/ Jools Holland". Bhiman's next record will be released in early 2015.
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About APM American Public Media is one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world, with a portfolio reaching more than 18 million listeners on more than 900 radio stations nationwide each week. Programs include A Prairie Home Companion®, BBC World Service, Marketplace®, Performance Today®, The Splendid Table®, On Being, The Dinner Party Download®, Wits, American RadioWorks® and many others. American Public Media's nearly 225,000 participants in the Public Insight Network promote deep connections between journalists across the country and the communities they serve. American Public Media is the parent organization for Minnesota Public Radio, Southern California Public Radio and Classical South Florida. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be found at americanpublicmedia.org. Source: Data are copyright Nielsen Audio. Data are estimates only.