Shitzprobe: The Improvised Broadway Musical at Yoder Barn

All the way from New York City, Shitzprobe presents the Improvised Broadway Musical at the Yoder Barn! The cast of Shitzprobe creates a totally new Broadway-style musical on the spot, right before your eyes. The show is completely improvised - all the lyrics, melodies, lines of dialogue, and dance moves are totally unrehearsed, including all of the music created by a live band featuring music director Adrien Pellerin on the piano and Christian Allen on the drums. 

Shitzprobe invites the audience to join the creative team and suggest the title of the brand-new musical they’ll see each evening. The show you see will never be seen again - it’s both the opening and closing night!

Shitzprobe was created in 2021 by Kiki Mikkelsen, Adrien Pellerin, and Ali Reed. Ali, Kiki, and Adrien are veterans of the New York City improv scene working to bring improvised musical theater to the Broadway stage. They have over 30 years of combined experience studying and performing improv all over New York City and internationally. This weekend, the creative team of Shitzprobe will be joined by some of the best musical improvisers in NYC: Aneesa Folds, Katy Berry and Daniel Tepper. Credits include Comedy Central, Adult Swim, Funny Or Die, and on Broadway in shows such as Lin Manuel Miranda’s Freestyle Love Supreme. 

Shitzprobe, a part of the 2023 New Musicals Lab at the Ferguson Center, is the first show to be produced at the Yoder Barn, a former dairy barn converted to a gorgeous theater and community space, in 12 years. The New Musicals Lab aims to be the most welcoming, supportive and collaborative space for new musical theater in America. The program seeks submissions from up-and-coming talent who are writing, producing, and performing unique new works before they preview at theaters in New York City, London, and around the country at regional theaters. Every summer a group of shows are selected for incubation on-location in the world-class spaces at Christopher Newport University’s Ferguson Center in Newport News, Virginia.

There are three more chances to see Shitzprobe at the Yoder Barn, on July 14th, 15th, and 21st at 8PM. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door and online on the Ferguson Center website. Shitzprobe is recommended for audiences ages 15+. 

You have never seen a musical quite like this before. Catch this one-of-a-kind show right here in Newport News while you have the chance!