'TRIPLE ESPRESSO' Extended At The Civic Center Until 1/18

Due to high demand, the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines today announced the extension of TRIPLE ESPRESSO - A HIGHLY CAFFEINATED COMEDY now playing at the Civic Center's Temple Theater. The hit comedy will play an additional five performances but must end Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.

Civic Center President & CEO Jeff Chelesvig cited much of the success of TRIPLE ESPRESSO is due to its family-friendly content and timeless humor making it a strong recommendation for group and family outings from those who have experienced the comedy.

Tickets for all performances through Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009 are currently on sale at the Civic Center Ticket Office and The Temple Theater Ticket Office two hours prior to every performance. Tickets are available now at all Ticketmaster locations, charge-by-phone at (515) 243-1888 and online at CivicCenter.org. Groups of 15 or more should call (515) 246-2300.

TRIPLE ESPRESSO is presented by the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines at the Civic Center's Temple Theater as part of the Prairie Meadows Temple Theater Series in the Temple for Performing Arts.

All pricing includes Building Restoration Fee of $2.50

TRIPLE ESPRESSO tells the rags-to-riches story of Hugh Butternut, Buzz Maxwell, and Bobby Bean, an aspiring comedy trio whose bid for showbiz fame and fortune ended in four minutes of magnificent failure on national television. It's a high-energy, vaudeville-inspired comedy for all ages, packed with music, illusion, and monkey business, and bursting with fun.

Des Moines first saw the coffeehouse guys when the Civic Center inaugurated The Temple Theater in the Temple for Performing Arts in October 2002. Originally scheduled for a 10 week engagement, TRIPLE went on to play for 68 weeks becoming Iowa's longest running show in the state's history, eventually playing to 105,000 Central Iowans in over 500 performances. It was a Des Moines favorite for 15 months during its run from October 2002 to February 2004.

The show originated in Minneapolis in 1996 and has now played for more than 10 years in 35 theaters with over 8,500 performances. The comedy, written by Bill Arnold, Michael Pearce Donley and Bob Stromberg and directed by William Partlan has been seen by over 1.5 million patrons.

In addition to Minneapolis and Des Moines, TRIPLE has played in venues across the globe in locations such as Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Chicago, Seattle, London, Dublin, Belgium, and Munich.

The Civic Center of Greater Des Moines is a private not-for-profit corporation celebrating its 30th season
of presenting the performing arts to Iowa and the surrounding states. It is the presenter of major Broadway and educational touring companies, performers and groups, and is the performing home of many local and regional groups, including the Des Moines Symphony and StageWest. All performances of the Broadway Series are supported by Willis Auto Campus. All performances at the Civic Center's Temple Theater are supported by Prairie Meadows.