So… it finally happened. After years of hoping… years of wishing… years of longing from afar… IT happened. I guest-hosted
Curtain Call.
For those of you who don’t remember my prior ramblings about the show, allow me to refresh your memory:
Curtain Call is a locally-produced, locally-telecast show which bills itself as “New England’s first and only karaoke TV show.” Basically, it culls from local karaoke bars people who would be willing to ply their karaoke abilities (or lack thereof) on television. While some of the people who appear on
Curtain Call have genuine vocal talent, the fun of the show lies with those so-called “performers” who oh-so-obviously should not be singing at all in public, never mind on television. It’s this aspect of the show which makes
Curtain Call viewing so completely addictive; the non-talented singers are given equal praise to those who can actually carry a tune. Absurdity reigns on
Curtain Call!
I first waded into the waters of
Curtain Call about 5 years ago, when my friend Pam found herself singing on the show. Little did she know what she was getting herself into; blessed with the ability to not just simply carry a tune, but to actually carry a tune quite well, Pam found herself on the show, surrounded by those of… oh, how shall I put it… “lesser vocal abilities.” And in using the phrase “lesser vocal abilities,” suffice it to say that in this instance I’m being diplomatic.
Being that Pam shares my love of the absurd, she shared with me the tales of her interaction with the show and its host and producer. Of course, I needed to meet these fine purveyors of such non-intentional absurdity… and before you knew it, Pam and I were attending a taping of
Curtain Call. The rest, as they say, is history.
Fast-forward to February 2009… the show’s usual hosts were on vacation, and Pam and I were given the opportunity to fill in as guest hosts. Well, you can imagine my joy: I would now be able to act as the ringmaster of this televised musical circus; my own live hour of so-bad-it’s-good unintentional absurdity. My anticipation was palpable.
The hour did not disappoint. Co-host Pam, of course, held fast with her usually-excellent singing voice (oh, and yes - we’ll give her a pass on forgetting the words to her song!). As for the guests on this particular edition of
Curtain Call… well, let’s just say that no breakout stars will be emerging from this group. But thanks to my role as host, I was given the opportunity to act as if they were ALL breakout stars. Imagine my joy! I was able to bring my own patented brand of “theater of the living” to live television!
Before we knew it, the hour came to an end. The great
Curtain Call caper had drawn to a close, and was (by all accounts) a resounding success. If you missed the show (and forgive me for going out on a limb here, but I’m guessing that you DID miss it), it will be replayed on Thursday, March 5 at 10:30am on channel 13 (in Rhode Island). Set your DVR!
As an absurd footnote to all of this insanity: following the close of the show,
Curtain Call’s musical director asked if I’d be interested in hosting a new television show that he was putting together in Boston! Me? Host another one of these kinds of shows – in BOSTON? The absurdity of the evening was now suddenly ratcheting up exponentially… and you’ve got to love that kind of payoff. God bless you, so-bad-it’s-good television.
