The newly completed and beautifully renovated Temple for the Performing Arts saw its first show Wednesday night, and it came in the boisterous form of “Triple Espresso.”

What exactly “Triple Espresso” is — well, that’s hard to define. It’s a play, and it has a script. It’s a comedy routine, and the show consists of individuals on stage working to make the audience laugh. It’s even partly improvisational, with the three actors on stage using audience members as part of the fun.

Nonetheless, more than anything, “Triple Espresso” could be defined in one word as funny. And apparently it’s not just the audience in Des Moines that thinks so, as the show has run in Minneapolis for five straight years and at the moment has concurrent shows in San Diego and Dublin, Ireland.

This widespread success may seem surprising, considering the show travels among some truly stale and hackneyed territory. Sure enough, though, a show that devotes a significant portion of time to shadow puppets, magic tricks and song-and-dance routines, as well as dreck like the despised Captain and Tenille non-classic “Muskrat Love” still makes an audience roar.

The show has three characters: pianist Hugh Butternut, comedian Bobby Bean and magician Buzz Maxwell. Though the loosely constructed story is retelling the tale of how their team never made it as a success, many of the greatest moments come when only one of the performers is on stage, or when audience members are singled out as being Hugh’s parents, Hugh’s scoutmaster or the president of a university.

It opens with only Hugh on stage, celebrating his 25th anniversary of playing at Triple Espresso. His old friends show up to help him celebrate and reminisce about or rue their failures at Will Bill Hickok Daze, Cable Zaire and the Mike Douglas Show that helped spell the end of Maxwell, Butternut and Bean.

Sadly, the Mike Douglas Show experience that marked the would-be climax of the show is one of the less funny segments. It’s certainly still humorous, but in the overall frame of the show it pales in comparison to their other experiences, particularly Buzz’s first experience as a magician.

“Triple Espresso” prides itself on being free of obscenity and is non-exploitative in its comedy, and it’s true. Except for a simulated nude dancing sequence that’s performed fully clothed, there’s nothing even bordering on a PG-rating in the show, so it’s safe to say this “Espresso” won’t leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth.

Like many in the audience, Tim Diebel, of Des Moines, says he hadn’t heard much about the show except that it was funny.

“It’s a hysterical collection of vignettes, and I’d recommend it to anybody with a flair for ’70s rock,” Diebel says.

Adam Garms, of Ames, thought the cast worked well together.

“I thought the characters in the show did a good job of playing off each other. They had three different styles of comedy in one show, but they made it work well,” Garms says.

While focusing on staples of middle age like the Mike Douglas show and ’70s rock, college students might find themselves turned off until they see the show.

“I wouldn’t have a hard time recommending it to a college student, but they probably aren’t the target audience. I would still recommend it to anyone who’s looking to have a good time,” Garms says.

“Triple Espresso” is likely to be a good time for anyone in the mood for a few laughs, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have a list of ’70s songs to request after intermission and the knowledge that the capital of Zaire is Kinshasa. While this might seem like obscure information for most shows, for “Triple Espresso,” it only increases the fun.

Ticket are available at http://www.civiccenter.org.