A Brief History of The Temp
The Temp: That Was Then
Brian Kelly as The Temp in 1998The Temp started life as a 2-minute sketch that Brian Kelly had written for a ComedySportz variety show sometime in the mid-90s. Todd Price suggested writing a couple of songs, creating a short one-act musical, which was performed by Youth Performance Company in 1997.
Dean J. Seal, then manager of the Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater, expressed interest in seeing the show ‘fleshed out.’ Kelly had his doubts. It was kind of a one-joke premise…how far could it be stretched? He soon discovered there were, in fact, a couple more jokes to be added; And a few songs; And several characters; And a handful of premises, and before he knew it, The Temp was a show unto itself.
The Cast of The Temp in 1998The Temp debuted in March of 1998 and sold out its initial 4-show run. It was brought back for the months of July and August, where it continued to play to full houses and earned rave reviews. City Pages’ Anne Ursu named The Temp the #1 show of 1998, and in their ‘Best of the Twin Cities’ edition, named it’s star, Michael Ritchie “Best actor in a comedy” for his performance. The Temp returned the following year as part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and was one of the highest grossing shows that year.
Post-Temp
By all measures, The Temp exceeded the expectations of its creators, and opened doors for them.
Todd Price has since been with the Minnesota Boychoir, working as a composer, arranger and accompanist. He has been musical director for the “Miss Richfield 1981” show for the past 10 years and has played for adult ballet classes at Zenon Dance Company.
Brian Kelly went on to perform in Tony & Tina’s Wedding and We Gotta Bingo, and spent the last 6 years in the role of “Bobby Bean” in the hit show Triple Espresso.
Recently, Triple Espresso ended its 13-year run at the Music Box Theatre. This also coincided with the 10- year anniversary of The Temp’s debut. It somehow seemed like the ideal time to revisit the long dormant production.
The Temp: Back in the Saddle
Michael Ritchie as The Phantom in 1998Several members of the original cast return; Michael Ritchie as “The Phantom,” Tom Winner as the boss, and Kelly in the title role. New to the production is local favorite Carolyn Pool as the lovelorn “Miss Swanson,” Julie Madden as “Denise” the office secretary, Dave Gangler as “Scooter” the stock boy, and Emily Tyra and Jane Samsal as “The Lovely Swans.” The creators are excited to apply 10 years of experience to a show that was once a modest hit. True, it is a re-mount, but Kelly and Price approach it as something brand new. Their hope is that The Temp will delight a whole new audience, and those who fondly recall the show will find it to be better than they remembered.