Brave New Workshop unveils downtown space

​Late last Friday afternoon, John Sweeney was in a conference room at Brave New Workshop's 824 Hennepin Avenue location. He was doing a final few tasks before putting on his tux for the marquee lighting and opening night of the company's new downtown home. It's easy to forgive him if he seemed a bit nervous.

After all, in the next hour or so several years of work would come to a culmination as the longstanding comedy troupe, which has roots that go back to the late 1950s, moved from its longstanding home in Uptown to 20 blocks up Hennepin in the heart of the downtown theater district, inside the triangle of the State, Orpheum, and Pantages.

Sweeney, who owns with the business with his wife Jenni Lilledahl, admits to being in an odd place. "In a sense, it's the end of a journey that started two years ago," he says. "We've been working full time in here since the beginning of April, and considering I've been on the road for 200 days a year, it's been a very busy time. But we did it."

The "it" was taking the space, which had been used as a theater for years, and fully renovating it. The Brave New Workshop will present its familiar comedy revues in the upstairs area, while the main-floor theater has been transformed in to the Experimental Thinking Centre (a play off on Brave New Workshop's old West Bank home), where the corporate and other training side of the business will now be headquartered. 

The space will also be available for use by non-profits and charitable organizations. The Sweeneys have announced Project 824, which will offer the space for free for 824 events. This will allow underfunded nonprofits to both use the high-tech facilities, and to present fundraisers without the risk of losing money due to rental fees.

The theater is looking to the future in other ways, including paying attention to energy-saving lights and other utilities.

No matter the changes, Sweeney believes audiences will get the same type of topical comedy at the new location as they did at the old, but without some of the downsides, like the leaky roof or limited bathrooms. The Brave New Workshop now also has a full liquor license.

Moving downtown gives the theater access to a new audience, be they tourists staying downtown to see a show at one of the nearby houses or folks attending a Timberwolves, Vikings, or Twins game. 

"When we were thinking about this building, we sat across the street to talk about it when two shows got out at once. Suddenly, there were thousands of theater fans out on the streets," Sweeney says.

The idea of a downtown Minneapolis Brave New Workshop has been around for quite some time. In fact, current mayor R.T. Rybak and company founder Dudley Riggs discussed it as far back as 1985. 

"I'm feeling pretty darn good," Riggs said after the marquee lighting. "It's really comforting to finally move to a downtown location."

Though he sold the business to the Sweeneys more than a decade ago, Riggs is a common sight at opening nights. In fact, employees and even the mayor wore his signature bow ties Friday evening. He's happy to see the idea that was born so many decades ago live on still along its longtime home of Hennepin Avenue.