Old School Variety Show - The January Show

The Old School Variety Show offers a fall, holiday, winter and spring show to gather friends and newcomers to experience entertainment done old school. This means live acts highlighting music, theatre and storytelling. The spontaneity and freewheeling style of the variety show provides an ever-changing, organic entertainment experience. There are no rehearsals. Each show develops a rhythm of its own. Sometimes the performers come in with similar ideas about tone or content.  They plan love songs for the February show or scary stories for the October show. The January show can be a toss-up. The show this month had a somber feel with 40 mph hour arctic wind gusts whistling by the windows. The Pearl sign outside the window creaked back and forth.  There were songs of regret, there were wistful stories, there were challenging stories. And then there were some laughs.  There was variety.

Front entrance to the Grand Hotel on Pearl Street.

Tara Jacquette opened the show on piano.

Ryan Hartkopf singing originals followed by a Dylan song...one of my husband's favorites.

Halie Becker performing Neil Labute's Medea Redux.

Eddie Allen, singer-songwriter, muse of the Driftless Area.

TerryVisger, founding member of La Crosse Storytelling Festival and an Old School regular.

Mike doing "The News from La Crosse Wisconsin"....local news done Garrison Keillor-style.

A warm and cozy bar,  a place to connect with old friends and meet new ones and a parade of artistic talent on the stage in front of you. For more information about the show go to http://oldschoolvarietyshow.com/ or Like them on Facebook.

Sold out!!

Old School Variety Show: Love

The Old School Variety Show, La Crosse, Wisconsin.  Storytelling, singing, folk tales, jokes, puppeteering, magic, impersonations...variety.   And a collective experience.  Sitting with friends and family, coming together to watch this show, laughing and reacting both individually and as a group, listening and engaging with the performers.  The value and uniqueness of the group experience.  The crowds are bigger now that the show is just on Saturday night. My husband has been hosting this show for about five years now, with a handful of people who are centrally and peripherally involved in most if not all of the shows.  This group is extremely important to the Old School.  And I thought about this as I saw every chair filled in this ballroom.  These friends listened and offered and encouraged the fruits of Mike's labor and helped make this all happen.  And they continue to be involved year after year.  Every chair full, the room bursting with energy, laughter, talking, lines of people at the bar.  Everyone waiting for the show.  Who will be here tonight?  What stories will be told?  I wondered this myself.  There are always surprises and each show is so totally different.  Different performers, different material and a different audience.  And the interplay between these three things determine the success of the Old School Variety Show.  The performers, the material and the audience.  The Grand Hotel is a great venue, a beautiful comfortable place that really seems made for this kind of entertainment.  But you also could throw this show in a park, in a backyard, in a living room and the important factors would still be the performers, the material and the audience...and not necessarily in that order.  Different every time.  I sat with my family and friends and took a deep breath as Mike came out on stage.  And this show about love began.

Mike introduces the show.

Elizabeth Caucutt and friends sing Ingrid Michaelson's "Everybody"

Kit and Kate Mayer 

My videotaping skills need a lot of work.  My tape cut off before any of Kate's lyrics :(

Terry and Ken Visger singing their love song.

Mike and Nancy Caucutt sing This is Us.  They sang this a year and a half ago at our wedding.  Goose bumps. They rock.  In every way.  And they have been a huge part of the variety show, helping launch and conceive of the whole thing.

See everybody in April!

An Old-School Night Out in La Crosse, WI

We headed off for the The Grand Hotel, a 1930's Art Deco Reception Hall, totally refurbished and full of exposed brick, shiny hardwood floors, a nice bar and a noisy crowd of people.  The Old School Variety Show was gearing up for its annual holiday show.  My sister-in-law and I were having a girls night out and what better place?  A night of friends, music, stories and cocktails.  The variety show is about reviving the craft of traditional storytelling and providing great live entertainment.  My husband has been organizing and hosting this event for the last four years and has many friends that join him at each show.

 Mike getting the show rolling

Elizabeth Caucutt does a sweet "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

Mike and Nancy Caucutt start off with a sassy little "Baby, It's Cold Outside"

Ivan tells a Christmas story that concludes with, "Just know that when you open that present, what you find in the box is the smallest part of the gift."

Carolyn Temanson plays beautiful accordian music from the film, Amelie.  If you've seen the movie(or heard this kind of music), you know how seductive French accordion can be.

Dr. Bob!  He's a puppet magician and he makes all of his puppets with his own two hands.

Mike doing his Garrison Keillor "News from La Crosse, WI"

Fayme Rochelle and the Waxings with their always excellent banjo, fiddle music and original songwriting.

Look at this crazy little cutie.

Farewell

The party continues at our house.

A good time was had by all.