Caleb McEwen's 5 most memorable comedy moments

August 11, 2017 at 7:14PM
Matt Craig, left, and Caleb McEwen in "Martha Stewart, Prison Vixen"
SCENES FROM HIS CAREER: Caleb and his wife, Katy McEwen — BNW’s associate artistic director — rehearsed for their show “Shut Your American Pie-Hole.” Josh Will, Caleb McEwen and Rick Logan in “Another Mix-up in the Manger.” McEwen, right, with Matt Craig in “Martha Stewart, Prison Vixen.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

"Shut Your American Pie-Hole": Caleb McEwen played a fundamentalist priest on a radio call-in show who pounds on a table as he insists that the Bible be taken literally. "It's not symbol. It's not metaphor. You're eating Jesus!"

"Total Recall II: The Governator": This sci-fi, alien-conspiracy spoof about California under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ended with a blackout. The five-member cast, including McEwen, sat onstage in the dark while the audience tried to figure out what was going on.

"Another Mix-Up in the Manger": His first Christmas show included a hip-hop version of the Gospel of Luke that drew whoops of laughter. (Sample lyric: "Son of Joseph, child of Mary, I'm gonna walk on water and I'll get real hairy.")

"Martha Stewart: Prison Vixen": At the end, an audience member was invited onstage to play an innocuous game of chess. Soon that person was framed for murder, and had to go through the U.S. prison system as if they were black. "This is 10 years before 'white privilege' became part of the everyday vernacular," McEwen said. "You can make a lot of good social commentary laughing."

"Prozac: It's What's for Dinner": The show started with McEwen and actor-writer Dan Hetzel in the audience, staring at the empty stage alongside patrons waiting for something to happen. They began to argue about Brechtian alienation before turning around to watch the audience in silence and finally descending into paranoia and panic. The sketch ended with McEwen running out of the theater with a trash can over his head.

Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune Caleb and Katy McEwen rehearse a song titled "WWJD" of their act "Shut Your American Pie-Hole, or Discount Family Values," that opens Sept 9 at the Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis.
Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune Caleb and Katy McEwen rehearse a song titled “WWJD” of their act “Shut Your American Pie-Hole, or Discount Family Values,” that opens Sept 9 at the Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Left to right: Josh Will, Caleb McEwen, and Rick Logan in the Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop production of "Another Mix-up in the Manger." Photo by Darrell Eager, provided by Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop.
Left to right: Josh Will, Caleb McEwen, and Rick Logan in the Dudley Riggs’ Brave New Workshop production of “Another Mix-up in the Manger.” Photo by Darrell Eager, provided by Dudley Riggs’ Brave New Workshop. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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