The Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota, was scheduled for demolition until it became the home to Garrison Keillor's "A Prairire Home Companion" which is broadcast to public radio stations around the country.

MINNEAPOLIS — Something funny's been going on around here.

The junior U.S. senator from Minnesota, a local guy named Al Franken, is the only member in Senate history who can list "professional comedian" on his resume.

Across the Mississippi River in St. Paul is the Fitzgerald Theater, home of the "A Prairie Home Companion" public radio show since 1986, mostly. The mix of Midwest humor and Americana music made a star of its originator/host, Garrison Keillor — enough so that Keillor could float 10 best-selling novels about his fictitious Lake Wobegon and a big-budget "A Prairie Home Companion" movie.

The Twin Cities is the home base of Dudley Riggs, credited by many as the inventor of improv/sketch comedy revues. His Brave New Workshop troupe launched many careers and did off-the-news comic sketches for NPR's "All Things Considered."

There are a half dozen comedy-only clubs there, not including theaters, cabarets and dinner theaters — this, in a market perhaps half the size of Philadelphia.

Some say humor here is an ingrained side-step to forces that simply must be lived with. Winters are so severe that Minneapolis skyscrapers are linked with human-size gerbil tubes — elevated skyways that allow pedestrians to shiver without walking in snowdrifts. In summer, marshy lakes breed mosquitoes that cast shadows the size of basketballs.

A more calculating rationale: six pre-Keillor decades of strong radio humor on WCCO-AM. Also, the foundation laid by Dudley Riggs: The Brave New Workshop he started in 1958 is still in business.

Here's where to go:

—Fitzgerald Theater

It was built in 1910 in downtown St. Paul by Broadway's fabled Shubert brothers, morphed into the World Theater and was ready for demolition by the 1980s. That's when Minnesota Public Radio restored it for "A Prairie Home Companion," which was becoming a hit on the airwaves. The two-hour mix of folksy music and comedy built around Keillor's weekly Lake Wobegon monologue is so popular, though, that the "PHC" troupe is often on the road: The next Fitzgerald gigs will be Sept. 17-Oct. 22. Order tickets in advance: Seeing what you ordinarily only hear is worth it.

The show gets under way at 4:45 p.m. local time Saturdays and goes live at 5. Get there early — doors open an hour before showtime for refreshments — and look around the beautifully preserved 1,058-seat theater. Bring a felt-tip to write a clever "hello" to the folks back home: Cards are distributed in the lobby. During intermission, Keillor places some greetings in front of him on the stage floor (write big) and reads them to radio listeners.

At the Fitzgerald, you can see the show's incredible sound man Tom Keith in action — he doesn't do road shows — and notice that what seems to be a laid-back, two-hour program is timed to the second. Keillor neither wings nor reads the Wobegon monologue. He formally writes and rewrites his tale days before; onstage and scriptless, he recaps it.

Theater seats are comfy and done in plush red corduroy. Being old, they also squeak. Being an old theater, the Fitzgerald is said to have a ghost (a stagehand named Ben).

The stage is simply dressed, with the house band on one side and guest artists on the other. Lighting and sound are controlled backstage and to the left. Next to it in the wing is a pinup wall the cast needs to check, even at intermission, for changes Keillor makes. The stage's back wall (out of view) is where guests and staffers have decorated its bricks with hundreds of graffiti greetings. (Guest and author Judy Blame, on a brick next to the fire alarm: "This place is so hot!")

FYI: The green room where guests wait is in the basement, next to a storage room where "backstage" scenes were shot for the 2006 Keillor/Lindsay Lohan movie.

Only at the "Fitz": Advance tickets sell out quickly, but 50 to 60 are set aside for day-of-show and priced at $15. Those are front-row seats ... plus the handful of seats onstage on the front porch of the prop "house."

—Brave New Workshop

When Dudley Riggs settled in the Twin Cities in the 1950s, after years in the circus and a comedy stint in New York, he says he tumbled on the fact that "What people here really wanted was good bread, good coffee and satire."

He opened a coffee shop and started a troupe to do shows. In the early '60s, Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop took up an old storefront at 26th and Hennepin, a ways south of downtown Minneapolis. Riggs sold it in 1997, but the concept has changed little: seasonal revues — 45 minutes of satirical sketches and songs pegged to current events — followed by audience-driven improv.

The current owners and staff are still throwing darts. "Obama Mia! or the Real Housewives of Abbottabad" opened July 22 and runs into October. Among the pols in the crosshairs, according to BNW publicist Stephanie Scott, is "a Minnesota woman who will remain nameless" (Michele Bachmann). This spring's offering was "Sarah Palin's Minnesota; or Hindsight is 2011."

BNW offers comedy classes for kids, but the revues are adult-oriented: Language and situations can be R-rated, and most everything else will fly over youngsters' heads.

The place has the comfortable, well-worn feel of a college bar. The theater itself is small (max seating: 206). You're just feet from interacting with the four to six people onstage.

Get a seat in the front if you're game for being pulled up from the audience. Mike Fotis, co-director of BNW's improv school, says one person picked at random this spring turned out to be the state auditor. "She was funny, but when she said what she did, it kind of threw me off."

Improv carries risks, of course. "There have been a couple heart attacks over the years," Fortis recalled, "but the worst was probably when somebody's colostomy bag exploded — and the show went on."

—Acme Comedy Company

It's in the basement level of a brownstone row in downtown Minneapolis' Warehouse/North Loop area. The Acme has been in business for 19 years and books national stand-up acts (seating: 300). What makes it a draw among area comics is the highly competitive open mic night: 8 p.m. most Mondays. You're likely to see Tommy Ryman, a local boy now hitting his stride on the Midwest club circuit. Keep an eye peeled for St. Paul native Nick Swardson ("Reno 911," "Grandma's Boy" and the upcoming "Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star").

—House of Comedy

Like the Acme, it books national and stand-up acts (including Tommy Ryman). But because it's in the Mall of America (fourth floor), HOC is an easy park at a humongous suburban retail/entertainment attraction that's minutes from the airport via the Hiawatha light rail line.

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IF YOU GO:

FITZGERALD THEATER, 10 E. Exchange St., downtown St. Paul; 651-290-1200; www.fitzgeraldtheater.org. "PHC" schedule and tickets ($32 and up): http://prairiehome.publicradio.org.

Tips: The stage door is just a few yards to the left of the main entrance; keep an eye peeled there for cast and celebs. If you're hungry, go to Mickey's Diner, 36 W. 7th St. The Art Deco landmark resembles an old railroad dining car. The fare isn't fancy, but it's open 24//7.

BRAVE NEW WORKSHOP, 2605 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis. 612-332-6620; www.bravenewsworkshopA.org. All seats are reserved. 8 p.m. Thursday ($26) and Friday ($29); Saturday at 7 ($29) and 10 p.m. ($27).

Tips: Parking can be a hassle; take a bus or cab. Hungry? Walk four blocks south to Chino Latino at 2916 Hennepin, where the concept is food from hot regions — China, India, Cuba, Central America. Make a reservation (612-824-7878), as the trendy place is often packed.

ACME COMEDY COMPANY, 708 1st St. N., Minneapolis. Cover varies; closed Sundays. 612-338-6393; www.acmecomedycompany.com.

Tip: Adjoining the Acme is Sticks Restaurant. Dinner/show packages are available.

RICK BRONSON'S HOUSE OF COMEDY, 4th level, Mall of America. Cover varies; closed Mondays. 952-858-8558; www.houseofcomedy.net.

Tips: Hit or Miss amateur night is Tuesday, but in August it's replaced by the monthlong "Minny's Got Talent" competition that is also open to magicians, jugglers and novelty acts. Hungry? Next to HOC is its R.Burger Bar (fancy burgers, salads).