Wasn't it Halloween last week? Santa is an impatient cuss, coming to town and blowing away any Thanksgiving turkey that gets in his way.

The Brave New Workshop has gotten way out in front of the season with its holiday revue, "Miracle at 824 Hennepin Ave.: Skyway to the Manger Zone," which officially christened the troupe's new space in downtown Minneapolis. (And to answer one anonymous patron walking through the lobby, yes, this is where they used to do "Tony n' Tina's Wedding.")

Owners John Sweeney and Jenni Lilledahl have put a lot of capital and elbow grease into the space, which challenges the Guthrie for most bars per patron -- except that all the bars at the Workshop were actually open Friday night.

"Manger Zone," directed by Caleb McEwen, plays in the upstairs theater, which feels considerably bigger than the old digs in Uptown. From where I sat, I could only see the performers from the waist up.

More important, where the old space rang out with a lively, loud and immediate intimacy, here we have the driest acoustics outside of a foam-enclosed closet. Whatever energy the cast could muster evaporated into the walls, the carpet, the seats and nearly 250 bodies.

All this serves as backdrop to the show, which under any circumstances felt thin. The actors shout and sweat through scenes that frankly don't deserve such effort.

A big ensemble number had a group kvetching about how great was Christmas past and how rotten was Christmas present. It had maybe two great moments -- both from Lauren Anderson -- and ended with a dance circle while Katy McEwen belted out "Those Were the Days." Any electricity we felt at the conclusion was due to her performance, not the sketch's humor or premise.

Mike Fotis plays a dad with a secret past in another vignette, but it's one joke that gets turned over and over.

Fotis and Anderson do an improv spot about best and worst gifts -- which lands beautifully because they're so great at this stuff.

For sight gags, you can't beat the horse that shows up in a couple of bits; Josh Eakright gets to make use of new video capabilities with a TV commercial on the "Crap-Sac," a cozy blanket that makes trips to the bathroom unnecessary.

Of course, two Workshop classics are back -- the shrieking mothers and the angry dads with their versions of "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Each one takes a while to get its legs, but the payoff is there.

The whole thing felt like an inauspicious opening. But we can be optimistic. Maybe by New Year's, this will be a different show.