Minnesota Public Radio Names Guests for the New Season of Wits with John Moe

Jan 25, 2011

Here's the lineup for Wits™ in 2011: It's the second season of the acclaimed live radio show featuring smart people who will say funny things and get you to stand up and sing at the end of the show

(St. Paul, Minn.)--January 26, 2011--Minnesota Public Radio presents Wits, a four part series at The Fitzgerald Theater starting in March. Wits is a radio stage show that brings some of the country's leading storytellers, writers and whip-smart funny people to the historic F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater to shed some light on a subject they're excited about. Guests join host John Moe and musical guide John Munson for a look at the subject through stories, songs and a conversation that will leave you laughing. Guests include Sandra Bernhard, Roseanne Cash, Patton Oswalt, Grant Lee Phillips, Neil Gaiman, Chuck Klosterman, and many more musical friends to be added.

Wits Season Two:

Patton Oswalt
pattonoswalt.com
Friday, March 25, 2011, 8 p.m.

It's unlikely you've made it to your adult life without seeing Patton Oswalt or hearing his voice somewhere. Maybe you've heard his Grammy-nominated comedy album Patton Oswalt: My Weakness is Strong or seen his numerous HBO specials. Maybe you've caught him as the star of the movies Ratatouille and Big Fan. Or perhaps you've seen him on TV in The King of Queens, WordGirl, or the Showtime drama The United States of Tara. Along the way, Patton has become known as one of the most popular and funniest comedians in the business. Now, he's added "author" to that resume, releasing a collection of essays called "Zombie, Spaceship, Wasteland." Colleagues say of his new book: "I don't know what's sharper, Oswalt's brains or Oswalt's tongue." -Sarah Vowell

Joining Patton on stage will be Grant Lee Phillips, former lead of the band Grant Lee Buffalo. Phillips is as much a storyteller as he is a songwriter. One reviewer says of his latest solo album Little Moon: "Phillips' sixth solo album finds the singer songwriter delicately crafting the kind of angelic alt-country gems that would make Jeff Tweedy salivate."

Our phone guest for the evening will be Paul F. Tompkins. A former correspondent for The Daily Show, Tompkins has appeared in the movies There Will Be Blood and The Informant! He's recorded two half-hour specials for Comedy Central Presents, and he puts out The Pod F. Tompkast once a month.

Chuck Klosterman
Friday, April 15, 2011, 8 p.m.
Musical guest: Craig Finn (of The Hold Steady)

For years, Chuck Klosterman has been taking your world and giving it more laughs and more depth than it would have had without his sharp perspective. From Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota to his latest work, a deck of cards called "Hypertheticals: 50 Questions for Insane Conversations," Klosterman has covered everything from heavy metal bands to sitcom laugh tracks and the Unabomber's manifesto. The former senior writer for Spin, and ESPN contributor has also written for The New York Times Magazine and Esquire. He's always got something smart to say about sports, movies, TV, rock'n'roll, your momma - and he'll join John Moe and John Munson for Wits this spring.

Sandra Bernhard and Rosanne Cash
sandrabernhard.com, rosannecash.com
Friday, May 20, 2011, 8 p.m.

Sandra Bernhard's sharp satiric style has been featured on TV, and in movies, songs and a one-woman Broadway show called I'm Still Here....Damn It. The New York Times called her "a living breathing bonfire." That spark put her in Comedy Central's top 100 greatest all-time standups. She'll share the stage with songstress Roseanne Cash, who's earned a reputation as a funny and incisive observer of the human condition. Her most recent album is The List, and her latest book is a memoir, Composed.

Neil Gaiman
neilgaiman.com
Friday, June 24, 2011, 8 p.m.

Neil Gaiman is one of the most engaging, smart writers we know. Turns out he's pretty funny, too. He's behind the Sandman graphic novels - the only comics to ever make the New York Times bestseller list. He's won a ton of awards for his writing - The Newberry Medal, the Carnegie Medal in Literature, and the Bram Stoker award, to name a few. He's written books and screenplays - American Gods, The Graveyard Book, Coraline, and Beowulf. He returns to Wits this spring and charms us all with his English accent and his way with words.

About host John Moe
Marketplacetech.org

John Moe is host of Marketplace Tech Report for American Public Media. He has written humor pieces for McSweeney's, The New York Times Magazine, several humor anthologies, and a book called Conservatize Me. John was named to the Metro 100 for 2010, Twin Cities Metro Magazine's list of "100 people, places and things impacting the Twin Cities right now." A prolific and witty tweeter, he earned the No. 7 slot on Paste Magazine's list of Best Twitter Users for 2010.

About musical guide John Munson
thenewstandards.com/munson

John Munson wrote, sang and played in 90's cult favorites Trip Shakespeare as well as the multi-platinum selling hit-makers, Semisonic. His current projects include founding and playing bass with jazzy revisionists (and hosts of the wildly successful annual Holiday Show at The Fitzgerald!), The New Standards and his latest rock group, The Twilight Hours thetwilighthours.com. He's both funny and a snappy dresser.

Tickets

On-Stage Wits is a four-part series at The Fitzgerald Theater presented each month starting in March. Series package tickets go on sale starting Tuesday, January 25th at 9:15 am. Series package tickets are $100 (general admission). Individual tickets are $32 for non-members, $30 for members. Tickets can be purchased through The Fitzgerald Theater box office at 651-290-1200.

Ticket Programs

Series package tickets are $100 for 4 shows, exclusively available January 25 through February 8th. Single tickets become available February 8th. All tickets are general admission.

Wits is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.