An Evening with Garrison Keillor

A couple of weeks ago, David texted me while he was at work to tell me that Prairie Home Companion had called their office to ask if they could be on PHC that Saturday night.  Thankfully, Cantus had no engagements that night, so they were able to do it.  Saturday came around and we got to downtown St. Paul to the Fitzgerald Theater where PHC is broadcast.  Because of the late notice I was not given a comp ticket, but I stood in line at 12:00 until 2:00 for the ticket office to open so that I could get a "rush" ticket (I was 5th in line).  At 2:00 the doors opened (about 30 people in line now) and I was given number 5.  The next step is to come back at 4:00 where they will sell the tickets for 15.00$ (a lot cheaper than regular tickets).  So I walked down to a coffee shop with a friend, Hannah, that I made in line (Hannah is a whole other story....if you want to hear about my detective skills, email me) and we waited until 4.  We walked back and the lady told us that the first 12 numbers are tickets that are on stage!

I walked in, bought my ticket, and they escorted me backstage.  I walked around the curtain and picked the seat on the end of a row which was closest to the front of the stage. 

The show began at 4:45.  Garrison, Cantus, and the other performers took the stage.  It was a great show.  It was fun to be there and watch how it all works.  I've listened to the show quite a bit, so it was neat to see the sound effects guy and the other voices.

That's David standing behind Garrison.

The show went on and afterwards David told me that Cantus had been invited to Garrison's house for an after-party with the cast.  Garrison lives on Summit Ave., which is just about 2 miles from our apt.  We got to his house and had some appetizers and desserts.  David introduced me to Garrison.  He was very nice, and very calm.  We also got to meet the other cast members and got to talk to them about the show.  It was a fun night.  PHC has asked Cantus back for a show in January.  So keep those radio dials tuned in!

I was going to try to put a video from PHC on here, but they wouldn't let me.  It was pretty hilarious!

We're getting ready for the cold up here!