The Monday Morning “Nobody-Asked-Me-To, But-Here-I-Go-Anyway” Event Review – Carol Burnett.

(or, Why I Will Never Be A Professional Concert Reviewer…)

Thus ends our weekend orgy of live entertainment, begun Thursday with Neil Diamond, continued Saturday featuring Bonnie Tyler, and concluding last night with catching one of the classiest ladies of entertainment still treading the planks – Carol Burnett.

Ms. Burnett is on a bit of a mini-tour with “Laughter & Reflection”, a blend of filmed highlights from her old TV show, and (mostly) audience Q & A. Can an entertainer actually fill 90 minutes with just questions from the audience, and make it worthwhile? Oh yeah, when almost every question bears hilarious nuggets of memories from over 50 years of being a popular TV, movie and stage figure.

She had us literally crying, we were laughing so hard. And what makes it even funnier, there’s that “punchline echo effect”, where nearby audience members are laughing, but shouting back the punchline. Which just makes you laugh all over again.

Seeing someone like Carol Burnett (with such effortless comedic timing, and graceful stage presence) really cements the feeling that modern TV is going to Hell in a hand-basket, if it could even afford the hand-basket. Some of the sketches and skits she either aired onscreen, or even just talked about in one of her reflections had the crowd roaring, and they are all at least 30 years old, or more! That’s a pretty powerful testimonial to just how great she and her repertoire company were.

And, judging by the mixed audience last night, her brand of comedy also seems to be a reminder of times when whole families watched shows like hers TOGETHER. Many generations were in attendance, probably for the first time in decades. You sure won’t be saying that when one of the stars of any modern comedy or sitcom ever tries going on tour…

The show started with a remembrance of the late Harvey Korman, who we were so fortunate to see last year (along with Tim Conway). The classic dentist sketch she aired was actually performed live when we saw them – still frigging hilarious decades later.

We got a taste of everything - impressions of her famous characters, and even the old Tarzan yell.

Bottom line – an incredible evening we won’t soon forget.

Chow for now!!