A Prairie Home Companion

Once a year Garrison Keillor, and the crew that’s singlehandedly keeping radio theater alive, makes a pilgrimage from Minnesota to NYC’s Town Hall for the Holidays. A Prairie Home is kitch, silly, clever, charming and definitely an acquired taste. But much like a hot Buttermilk Biscuit right out of the oven, when it’s cooked up right, A Prairie Home warms you from the inside.
Garrison is an unlikely leading man. He’s gawky, sings funny, and he doesn’t always smile. Yet he’s a storytelling genius, a great composer and knows how to top off a black suit and red tie with a killer set of red sneakers.
If you’re an NPR fan, you’ve probably heard APHC. It takes on a whole different dimension live. Watching Garrison find new ways to toss away finished material is half the fun (tonight’s favorite was sending the papers on a slow slide across the top of the open piano onto the floor). And the foley (sound effects) guy is a show unto himself. Kudos to Garrison for getting us all to sing Silent Night in German and sharing Odetta with the crowd.