Twenty-five years ago, the two of us were privy to our cousins having a very, very important and slightly heated conversation. They were new parents and figuring out what to call “it”… the “pee pee,” or the “wee wee”?

I mean, this was important.

They argued the merits of each, and we listened. And took mental notes. And possibly sneakily wrote notes on a cocktail napkin. (I mean, this was even before smart phone notes apps.) And then, like any self-serving writers, we wrote up a comedy version of that conversation and put it in one of our very first Broad Comedy shows. We set four moms on a park bench watching their kids play soccer, battling out the pros and cons.

At the time, it was a slightly racy piece, and it pushed the edge of anatomical humor that most people hadn’t seen women deliver, and we weren’t sure how Bozeman audiences (or any audiences for that matter) would react. Let’s remember that 25 years ago was five years before Amy Schumer got her start, a full decade before Bridesmaids, a full twenty years before Awkwafina sang about her ‘Vag.’ Heck, it was before streaming Netflix even existed.

Earlier this year, we revisited that script and rewrote it as a short film, but in writing it we realized how far things have come since that initial draft. Women are allowed to say quite a bit more these days and still get asked back (and man, has Broad Comedy enjoyed being a part of that cultural shift all these years!).

So we had to update it. We rewrote it, pushed it some more, and now have a film that goes off the rails a bit. (And won quite a few national film fest awards, we’re thrilled to report!) And then, just last week, we adapted this new script back into an updated stage version for the upcoming show, which we are debuting in our beloved Bozeman November 14, 15 & 16, where we debuted the first version all those years ago.

Yes, we’ve certainly gone over the line now and then with our sketches and parody songs. You can hear the scandalized laughter in our live videos shot at the Emerson, alongside seeing one or two raised eyebrows, mouths hanging open, and one woman deliriously curling into a ball in a fit of laughter, not sure how she was “allowed” to react.

A bigger question we try to tackle, even bigger than “pee-pee” or “wee-wee,” is how we as artists can affect discussions in our culture. For us, comedy has been the way in. For example, picture it:  two actresses dressed as male rats are set in a fancy country club where they are being tested daily for medical research in The Maze. A female rat shows up and they go ballistic. Imagine fancy English accents, cigars, giant rat costumes. (And note that this is the only section of this piece that was appropriate to print in a community magazine!)

Female Rat: Do you know that female humans metabolize some medicines at different rates than male humans? Perhaps precisely because of these hormones you mention. Thus, to test medications only on males is, sir, ludicrous.

Male Rat #1: Oh, no! I see what you’re implying! We’re going to need some new window treatments, perhaps a Pilates machine there in the corner — she’s the first of many! Oh dear! We’ll need Diet Coke behind the bar!

Male Rat #2: Oh, my; yes, yes, yes! A tampon dispenser in the restroom!

Male Rat #1: Perhaps we’ll all begin “cycling together.” Oh, god!

 

Needless to say, since that piece was performed for the first time 10 years ago, the medical research industry has made significant headway in including women in their studies. All because of a Broad Comedy sketch. You’re welcome!

But why comedy? We have always found that when people are laughing, they are listening. We think that’s still true, although the divisiveness of our country these days makes it virtually impossible to move the needle on what anyone over the age of nine thinks. So, please bring your nine-year-olds to the show. Kidding!! Do not bring your nine-year-olds!

Today, the experience of a Broad Comedy show is more like, perhaps, church: those who come to a progressive comedy show mostly all agree on politics, but at times feel isolated, and so come together for support, joy and inspiration. Church. Or the Farmers’ Market on a Tuesday in July; we all come together to agree that massaged kale is going to be our salvation. Comedy plus massaged kale. There you go. The answer to everything. Again, you’re welcome!

In this past quarter-decade we’ve written wildly bawdy bits, politically liberal satire that bites back, and, of course, sex-positive feminist songs and sketches that could absolutely never have been done back then. (Can you imagine Katie performing in Bozeman back in 1999 her recent song that we can’t name here, about some particular bathroom graffiti? No. No, you cannot.) And Bozeman audiences (women and men) have shown up every year to show they need to laugh, need to be in a room where other people care about these women’s issues, environmental topics, LGBTQ takes on the state of things, and more. We are curious to see where we end up in another 25 years. Probably we will be AI holograms. But, hopefully, funny ones.

To check out what you’re getting yourself into, go to www.broadcomedy.com and check out the videos and reviews. Hailed as one of Bozeman’s greatest assets by numerous media outlets both locally and nationally, this is a show you don’t want to miss!

And men, don’t let the women go without you! The Broads have hundreds of male fans who come every time. November 14, 15 & 16 at 8:00pm. VIP reserved seats are available for purchase with no wait line and excellent seats.

For more information: 406-522-7623, or www.broadcomedy.com/tickets.