At my first Theater of Public Policy event in July, I marveled at how the “civic improv comedy show,” fresh off a four-year hiatus, used its unique format to moderate “an in-depth, nuanced and even cordial discussion” between Mayor Jacob Frey and City Council President Elliott Payne.

So when I took my seat Tuesday evening at the Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater for a debate between Hennepin County Attorney candidates Rep. Cedrick Frazier and Anders Folk, I was eager to see how much of the experience would repeat itself.

In-depth? Absolutely. Nuanced? No question. Cordial? Well … mostly.

Host and Theater of Public Policy founder Tane Danger once again came prepared with a slew of questions and an earnest effort to push the candidates on their answers. His primary goal seemed to be finding points where ideas diverged. Prosecuting ICE agents, for example, was dispensed with rather quickly when Frazier agreed with Folk’s comment that he didn’t think “there’s really any daylight between the two of us” on the topic.

Related: Hennepin County Attorney field narrows to Frazier, Folk

Folk, for his part, repeatedly tried to tie Frazier to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. Under her, Folk said the office had “lost the thread of its core mission, which is public safety,” noting that Frazier had endorsed her 2022 run and co-chaired her transition team.

Frazier pushed back on the comparison and Folk’s interest in moving past the “Mary Moriarty era,” saying that he, too, would bring change to the office.

“She’s not in this race,” Frazier said. “She’s not here. She’s not running again.”

That repeated argument inspired some of the biggest laughs of the night during the first break, when improv performers took the stage to act out skits loosely based on the candidates’ discussions.

“I was at the grocery store, and people keep thinking I look like this white lady, right?” Denzel Belin said in an exasperated tone before Alexis Camille burst on stage yelling, “Mary!”

The second half of the evening turned more contentious following Folk’s jab that as a prosecutor he is better suited to the role than Frazier, who, like Moriarty, has worked as a public defender.

Frazier sought to flip the script, saying that previous Hennepin County Attorneys Amy Klobuchar and Mike Freeman held jobs other than prosecutor before their terms in the office. (Both of them lawyers, Klobuchar worked in private practice and Freeman served in the state senate.) 

Related: With Moriarty bowing out as Hennepin County Attorney, the race is on for who will replace her – and how

“These are two individuals that my opponent speaks highly of and says that they support him and that they’re his mentors. So I don’t understand this contradiction in terms of how people can be successful,” Frazier said.

Folk’s response included the words “Mary Moriarty” five times in the span of a minute, kicking off a span where Danger sat back and largely let the candidates run the show. Frazier pushed Folk on his time as a U.S. Attorney under the first Trump administration; Folk pressed Frazier on whether Moriarty had “mistreated law enforcement for the last four years.”

On many topics, though, including working with a federal administration that may oppose you, and their approach to a hypothetical case involving a 15-year-old who stole a car alongside a friend who then shoots someone, Frazier and Folk’s answers didn’t differ too much – to the point that one improv scene featured a song with the chorus “a little bit of both.”

Following the show, Danger said he hopes for the informal and somewhat rollicking events to open up opportunities to talk about politics the way people actually think about them.

“So, like in this show, there’s this part where I say, ‘How do I pick between you two?’” Danger said. “A traditional reporter or debate moderator isn’t going to have that moment of exasperation, but yet the audience is all feeling that exact same thing.”

Community Voices: Political debates matter if we treat them as more than theater

The relatively young crowd, laughing and occasionally cheering as burgers and bowls of bibimbap arrived at their tables, seemed to agree.

“The best kind of conversations that you have over dinner or beers or tea with your friends … That’s the vibe we’re going for,” Danger said. “I’m hoping that people resonate with that because we need people to care about this stuff.”

The candidates, for their part, seemed to enjoy the fresh approach, too. Asked to compare it to other debates, Folk texted, “More freewheeling! Our only other debate post primary was on Almanac, so this is a much different vibe.”

Frazier added, “The issues at stake in this race are serious and consequential, but it’s equally important to find joy in the work we do and make room for a good laugh along the way.”

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