PROVO — The comedy troupe the Garrens is hitting the Provo stage for the first time in 12 years.

Many Garrens alumni, including some of the original cast members, will reunite Saturday, Sept. 14, to perform in the "Garrens Comedy Troupe 20th Anniversary Reunion Spectacular!" and revive some of their most beloved and remembered sketches from the group's eight-year run.

Crowd favorites included "Guys Apartment," "Sharing Our Journals" and "The Pioneer Song," to name a few. The group will also perform with a live band and touch on topics ranging from college and pop culture to relationships.

"It's been 12 years since we performed at BYU, so only the laziest of our classmates are still students there," founder Eric D. Snider said in a news release. "But a lot of our fans are still in the Provo/Salt Lake area, and we know they remember life at BYU in the '90s and early aughts. We're pretty sure the current students will laugh, too. Jokes about obnoxious roommates are timeless."

The Garrens' first show was in January 1993. They performed weekly on campus until disbanding in March 2001.

About a year ago, former members of the Garrens messaged each other on Facebook discussing the possibility of getting together for the 20th anniversary of their first show, said actor and screenwriter Lincoln Hoppe, a former member, writer and director of the Garrens.

"It was a matter of staying in contact with people," Hoppe said. "We thought it would be much more fun to do a show than to not do one."

Former Garrens are traveling from all across the country, some from as far as upstate New York and Florida.

To prepare for the show, some members have been rehearsing together via Skype. They will also hold a full-day rehearsal before the show, Hoppe said.

"I'm looking most forward to seeing all my old friends and the fans. ... I'm really looking forward to seeing people I went through all this stress and comedy with through all my years at BYU," Hoppe said. "Second is to do all these funny comedy pieces I haven't acted in for so many years."

Hoppe said he is excited to entertain both old and new audiences with the material, some of which he wrote, that defined his college experience.

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Other performers at the "Garrens Comedy Troupe 20th Anniversary Reunion Spectacular!" include Joel R. Wallin, Lisa Valentine Clark, Marc E. Shaw, Aaron Johnston, Lauren Keller Johnston, Ken Crain, Katie Fillmore Craig and Becky Baird.

The show will be at 7 p.m. at the Joseph Smith Building Auditorium at BYU and will be followed by a post-show "Improv Jam."

Tickets are $8 in advance online and $10 at the door.

Emmilie Buchanan-Whitlock is an intern for the Deseret News with Mormon Times. She recently graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho. Contact her by email: ebuchanan@deseretnews.com or on Twitter: emmiliewhitlock

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