"The Kids in the Hall," the watershed comedy troupe of the 1990's, are returning to their live-performance roots for a major North American theater tour in 2008. The tour kicks off at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, IN on April 4, 2008, and will include approximately 40 cities in t... more >

"The Kids in the Hall," the watershed comedy troupe of the 1990's, are returning to their live-performance roots for a major North American theater tour in 2008. The tour kicks off at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, IN on April 4, 2008, and will include approximately 40 cities in the US and Canada.

Discovered by Lorne Michaels, creator of "Saturday Night Live", "The Kids in the Hall" - Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson - exploded into the American consciousness when their half-hour sketch comedy show debuted on cable's HBO in 1989. The troupe’s distinctly edgy humor broke new ground with their characterizations of secretaries, prostitutes, gays, drug users, and oddball creations like the half human Chicken Lady, the vengeful "head crusher" and the chauvinist Cabbage Head. Critical acclaim, Emmy and Ace nominations, and a legion of extremely dedicated fans quickly followed the debut.

The show itself ended in 1995, but lived on in constant re-runs on cable's Comedy Central, offering new fans the opportunity to fall under the "hilariously warped" (Entertainment Weekly) spell of the "Kids'" spin on life, love, lust, middle-class values, and the dark corners of suburbia. Since the show ended, each member of the troupe has been involved in a variety of extremely successful projects, but finally acquiesced to the steady demands from fans to take their classic sketches out of the hall and back in front of a live audience in 2000. A movie version of the tour, “Same Guys, New Dresses” followed, along with another tour and DVD in 2002 (“Tour of Duty”).

The 2008 tour, titled “Live As We’ll Ever Be”, represents a new era in the troupe’s collaboration, and is comprised of completely fresh material which simultaneously reflects who they are now and their patently off-kilter take on ordinary life. Favorite characters from the television series appear in entirely new situations, sharing the stage with new KITH personas which are destined for the same level of cult adoration. In a world where most entertainment tries to play it safe, “The Kids in the Hall” steadfastly refuse to follow the trend, preferring instead to slaughter sacred cows and look at the world – and each other – with refreshing honesty. < less