This American Life is possibly the finest show on radio. And since its debut on Showtime last year, it’s also a great television show.
Have you seen these promotions for watching rock concerts or the Metropolitan Opera at your local movie theater? I have. I think I’ve read that the first season of Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD was pretty successful. The second season increased from six broadcasts to eight and it looks like they’re doing an encore broadcast of La Bohème this month.
So, I’ve been curious, but have never really been tempted to attend. But then I heard This American Life promoting one of these live events. Here’s the AP story:
Tickets are on sale for “This American Life – Live!” which will be broadcast in high-definition to cinemas nationwide Thursday evening. Originating from New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, it will include previews of the TV series, as well as [host Ira] Glass to talk about it.
So, kind of on a whim, I decided to go tonight. It was 20 bucks, but I figured the TAL guys deserved it. I frankly didn’t expect much of a crowd in Columbia, MD (a suburb of B-More), but the theater was packed.
Bottom line: I loved it. Well worth the money. There were some clips from the radio show and some upcoming segments from the TV show. There was also a kind of “blooper” clip that showed an interview that included cutaways to Glass interviewing the subject — hilariously bad. We also got a real bonus: a story cut from the series for reasons of time.
“We found some eighth- and ninth-graders who decide they’re going to be comedians, so they do stand-up for a summer,” Glass explains. “It doesn’t sound like much of a premise, but, truthfully, hearing them talk about it is amazing, and watching the stand-up routines is pretty interesting. It’s very funny and very moving.”
It was a really great story, told by TAL regular Jonathan Goldstein. One highlight is an earnest instructor explaining to the aspiring kids that it’s more important for comedians to be likeable than funny. David Rakoff also made a cameo appearance, offering a solution to that awkward situation when you have to introduce two people and you can’t remember their names (He feigns a coughing fit). I also thought I saw Sarah Vowell in the audience, but I can’t be sure.
A big chunk of time went to audience questions, both emailed and live. Ira Glass answered a question about how the show is done and pointed out they do a lot like The Onion staff does: Start with a ton of ideas, weed through them mercilessly, throw stuff out, end up with quality. This ties in a little with my comments about reality television, in that many TV producers just want to get the material done and get it on the air and quality often requires time and endless creative editing (and the strength to kill off weak material).
It’s also worth pointing out that listening to the radio is generally a solo activity. I listen to TAL through the podcast, which is an even more solitary pursuit. It was pleasant to gather with other local people, united in our appreciation of Ira Glass and his gifted colleagues. Pretty mixed crowd, too.
The new season starts on Showtime this Sunday.
Tags: This American Life, Ira Glass, Showtime