Dear Garrison Keillor
By Paul Lyons
Dear Garrison Keillor,
It was a dark and stormy night that we ventured off to the movie theater to see a “Live Simulcast” of A Prairie Home Companion. We planned on getting to the show at least a half hour early as in the past we have had to settle on inferior seats – ones in the front row where no matter what you do, you get a stiff neck from looking straight up. It pained me to think I would maybe spend the next two hours counting your nose hairs. When we walked into the theater we were surprised that there were just a handful of people - mostly old gray hairs sitting meekly. I shouted out "Where is everyone?" and got not a single response. These people must be from Lake Wobegon. Honest hard working people, but often quite shy. So we sat in the middle seats in the middle of the whole shebang.
A few weeks back when you came through town, we were planning on going to one of your shows at the War Memorial in downtown San Francisco. It is not often you come through town. Many years ago we saw you out at the Concord Pavilion. It was a good show but you could tell that you did not like the venue and the suburban feel of the place. So as I went to buy tickets for the War Memorial show I was shocked to find out that both shows were sold out. I looked around for some scalper tickets and found a few but at more than $500. Ouch! No go buddy. Maybe if we remember we will listen to the radio that night.
So the "Live Simulcast" of A Prairie Home Companion was our "plan b." Surprised at the low turnout, I welcomed the spaciousness of my surroundings. Just after we sat down the projectionist started running a short documentary of you giving a tour of the Fitzgerald Theater and surrounding neighborhood. This was absolutely brilliant. Buying the popcorn, the pie, the red tie and scarf was a great way to give everyone an inside view of things. As we sat and ate our popcorn you walked around in the cold eating yours giving a tour of the neighborhood. Brilliant idea. Maybe someday they will construct a bronze statue of you as well so that both you and F. Scott Fitzgerald can muse in silence for eternity.
Once the show began we were taken in. The sound and camera work were fabulous. The guests were first rate. The fact that you had Elvis Costello on the show made it a real winner. While I have always liked his work, at times he seems to have an issue with pitch. His singing sort of floats around and can end up a bit flat for whole measures. But his style and delivery are fantastic and doing those "jump" numbers really brought out the band. His acting work in the little bits was outstanding. Do invite him back on the show as an annual event.
Besides Elvis Costello, we enjoyed just about everything on this show. Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele were absolutely phenomenal. What singing! What phrasing! Heather Masse, who pitched in on just about everything was excellent. The band was quite good and I can never get enough of Richard Dworsky and Pat Donohue. Andy Stein had a lesser roll on this show but he is fun to hear too.
Having heard your radio show more times than I would like to admit, it was a revelation to see it so close up. The focus yet ease of the performance. The great work of Tom Keith and Fred Newman on the sound effects. The ebb and flow between acts. The realization that we were seeing pros at their craft. When "The News From Lake Wobegon" started my two teenage kids where on the edge of their seats. The whole bit of camping on the frozen lake and getting up to go pee is a universal theme not used enough in stories. Tying in a little scripture and Corinthians 13 balanced out the whole bit. It was a dark and stormy night and the show was great and please make a video of the whole thing so I can buy it and watch it again and again and say I was there – sort of.
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