A Prairie Home Companion Live

On February 4, 2010, the audience at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul enjoyed a special Thursday-evening edition of A Prairie Home Companion. So did countless more fans in movie theaters across the United States and Canada. They were watching the first-ever cinecast—the show beamed live by satellite to movie screens.

Guests included legendary English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, vocal powerhouses Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele, songstress Heather Massey, and Robin and Linda Williams. Also on the program, the Royal Academy of Radio Actors: Sue Scott, Tim Russell, and Erica Rhodes. Both Tom Keith and Fred Newman were on hand to create sound-effects mayhem. All this, plus a punchedup Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band (a special horn section was flown in from New York), episodes of “Guy Noir” and “Lives of the Cowboys,” a Powdermilk Biscuit Break, and, of course, the News from Lake Wobegon.

As a bonus, the DVD features the short film that was shown before the cinecast: Garrison Keillor making his way through St. Paul to the Fitz, with stops at local landmarks like the F. Scott Fitzgerald statue in Rice Park, Mickey’s Diner, and Candyland.