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A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show usually runs two hours on Saturday afternoon from 5 to 7 PM Central Time, and originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. It is produced by Prairie Home Productions and distributed by American Public Media, and is most often heard on National Public Radio member stations in the United States. The show has a long history, existing in a similar form as far back as 1974, and borrowing the name from a radio program in existence in 1969.
History
The earliest radio program to have this name bears little resemblance to what is currently heard on Saturday evenings. A Prairie Home Companion was originally a morning show running from 6 to 9 AM on Minnesota Public Radio. The show's name came from the Prairie Home Cemetery in Moorhead, Minnesota.
After researching the Grand Ole Opry for an article, Keillor became interested in doing a variety show on the radio. On July 6th, 1974, the first live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion took place. That show was broadcast from St. Paul in the Janet Wallace Auditorium of Macalester College. The turnout? Twelve audience members, mostly children.
In 1978, the show moved into the World Theater in St. Paul. This is the same location that the program uses today, as the World was renovated and renamed to the Fitzgerald Theater.
The show went off the air in 1987, and Keillor spent some time abroad in the next two years. He returned to radio in 1989 with The American Radio Company. In 1993, the show moved to Minnesota and was renamed to A Prairie Home Companion. While most of the episodes originate from St. Paul, the show often travels to other cities around the U.S. to do the weekly broadcast.
The show was distributed by Minnesota Public Radio in association with Public Radio International until July 2004, at which time American Public Media became the distributor.
Format
Each show opens with the Spencer Williams composition "Tishomingo Blues" as the theme song, but with lyrics written for especially for A Prairie Home Companion. It features a weekly story-telling monologue from Keillor, claiming to be a report from Keillor's fictitious hometown of Lake Wobegon ("The little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve").
Other recurring bits on the show include fictional commercials, including those for "The Catchup Advisory Board" (with a spelling that is a compromise between catsup and ketchup) and the Fearmonger's Shoppe ("For all your phobia needs"). Radio comedy skits featuring Keillor and the ensemble are performed, such as the satirical "Guy Noir, Private Eye", which pokes fun at gumshoe detective films. The show is "sponsored" by the fictitious product "Powdermilk Biscuits" (Slogan: "Buy them ready-made in the big blue box with the picture of the biscuit on the front, or in the brown bag with the dark stains that indicate freshness"). Powdermilk Biscuits has its own theme song, sung by Keillor every week. Also, greetings from members of the audience (which are frequently humorous) to friends and family at home are read each week.
Music is a big feature of the program, and it is a significant outlet for American folk music of many genres. While much of the show is directed toward radio comedy, a portion of the show is usually devoted to some more sentimental and sometimes dark stories put together by Keillor and others.
Cast
In addition to Garrison Keillor, several other performers frequently appear on A Prairie Home Companion:
- Pat Donohue
- Richard Dworsky
- Arnie Kinsella
- Tom Keith (aka Jim Ed Poole)
- Fred Newman
- Gary Raynor
- Tim Russell
- Sue Scott
Broadcast information
The show is distributed by Minnesota Public Radio's distribution arm, American Public Media, to NPR and other outlets and can be heard on more than 511 public radio stations in the United States. Approximately 3.9 million U.S. listeners tune in each week. The program is also carried around the world by the American Armed Forces Radio Network as well as America One.
New Zealand's National Radio carries it from time to time.
An alternative edition of the show is broadcast in the UK by BBC 7 and in Ireland by RTÉ under the name Garrison Keillor's Radio Show.
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