2008 Woodie Awards
A Grand Ole Time at the Prairie
A Prairie Home Companion, the Radio Show
Jingjing Tian
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
I started listening to A Prairie Home Companion on National Public Radio my sophomore year in high school. Reruns came on ever Sunday at 11 a.m. I would sit on my butt in front of the radio and listen to Garrison Keillor's calm voice as he talked about Lake Wobegon and Rhubarb Pie. I guess you could call it my religion since I didn't go to church. I held on to each word because if I didn't, those words were just words and they would slip away. When I graduated from high school, I also graduated from A Prairie Home Companion. However, when Greg got us tickets to see the radio program at Town Hall in New York City, all of the thoughts and emotions I associated with the program came back to me in a rush of sweet nostalgia.
The first live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion was at its birth place of St. Paul, Minnesota on July 6th, 1974. Back then only 12 people were in the audience of a 400-seat hall. Now, tickets to the live show sell out in minutes as the program travels from city to city. A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show centered on the local culture of the Midwest. The production is live every Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Each show opens with a folk song that has lyrics written especially for the program. The host Garrison Keillor shares with listeners his signature monologue, "The News from Lake Wobegon," comedy sketches, music, and commercials for imaginary products.
"The News from Lake Wobegon" is a report on Keillor's make-believe hometown where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average." The show is sponsored by imaginary products such as "Powdermilk Biscuits, Be-Bop-A-Re-Bop Rhubarb Pie and Be-Bop-A-Re-Bop Frozen Rhubarb Pie Filling, Mournful Oatmeal, The Catchup (Ketchup) Advisory Board," and other quirky products with funny catchphrases. The show also features Tim Russell, Sue Scott, sound effects man Fred Newman, and The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band.
The late director Robert Altman made a movie about the radio show two years ago with the cast from the real production along with actors Meryl Streep and Lindsey Lohan. Despite the accuracy of the movie, I would have to say that the real radio show is much better.
At Town Hall, the charismatic Keillor wore his signature red shoes, red socks, and a red tie along with a black suite- the kind of physical eccentricity that mirrored the show. The audience sang along with each song and laughed at every joke, reminding us of the good ole days and the even better future. The radio program is a true slice of Americana that is best experienced live. As I swayed to the guest Cuban band, I thought about warm summer nights guzzling cold lemonade and smelling the fresh cut grass with my friends and my family in a town named Conroe, Texas.
A Prairie Home Companion is produced by Prairie Home Productions and distributed nationwide by American Public Media. To find information about future shows in a city near you, visit http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/
The first live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion was at its birth place of St. Paul, Minnesota on July 6th, 1974. Back then only 12 people were in the audience of a 400-seat hall. Now, tickets to the live show sell out in minutes as the program travels from city to city. A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show centered on the local culture of the Midwest. The production is live every Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Each show opens with a folk song that has lyrics written especially for the program. The host Garrison Keillor shares with listeners his signature monologue, "The News from Lake Wobegon," comedy sketches, music, and commercials for imaginary products.
"The News from Lake Wobegon" is a report on Keillor's make-believe hometown where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average." The show is sponsored by imaginary products such as "Powdermilk Biscuits, Be-Bop-A-Re-Bop Rhubarb Pie and Be-Bop-A-Re-Bop Frozen Rhubarb Pie Filling, Mournful Oatmeal, The Catchup (Ketchup) Advisory Board," and other quirky products with funny catchphrases. The show also features Tim Russell, Sue Scott, sound effects man Fred Newman, and The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band.
The late director Robert Altman made a movie about the radio show two years ago with the cast from the real production along with actors Meryl Streep and Lindsey Lohan. Despite the accuracy of the movie, I would have to say that the real radio show is much better.
At Town Hall, the charismatic Keillor wore his signature red shoes, red socks, and a red tie along with a black suite- the kind of physical eccentricity that mirrored the show. The audience sang along with each song and laughed at every joke, reminding us of the good ole days and the even better future. The radio program is a true slice of Americana that is best experienced live. As I swayed to the guest Cuban band, I thought about warm summer nights guzzling cold lemonade and smelling the fresh cut grass with my friends and my family in a town named Conroe, Texas.
A Prairie Home Companion is produced by Prairie Home Productions and distributed nationwide by American Public Media. To find information about future shows in a city near you, visit http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/
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