Tunesday : I'm So Glad

I'm So Glad

(Hamilton, J) Performed by Carol Burnett

I'm so glad we had this time together
Just to have a laugh, or sing a song.
Seems we just got started
and before you know it
Comes the time we have
to say, 'So long.'

There's a time you put
aside for dreamin',
And a time for things you have to do.
The time I like the best
is in the evening -
I can spend a moment here with you.

When the time comes
that I'm feelin lonely,
And I'm feelin' ohooooo - so blue,
I just sit back and think of you, only,
And the Happiness still comes through.

That's why I'm glad we
had this time together,
'Cause it makes me feel like I belong.
Seems we just got started
and before you know it
Comes the time we have
to say, 'So long.'

It was months ago that I read that Carol Burnett would be bringing her live show (An Evening of Laughter and Reflection) to the local theatre, and when I told Dave about it, he said we had to go; get front row if we could. So when the tickets went on sale, I did, indeed, reserve us front row seats and the show was last night: what a thrill it was to have been so close to one of our favourite living legends. It would not be a blasphemy to say that I watched her show religiously growing up, Dave says it was the same at his house, and Carol Burnett might now be eighty-five, but she's still quick with the comebacks, engaging with her storytelling, and gracious with her fans. Just a fantastic show.

Dave and I knew that it would be a Q&A format, and over dinner beforehand, I asked him if he had thought of any good questions. He told me of a few ideas - he was sincerely interested to know if Carol had any insight into why no one is putting on primetime variety shows anymore - but when he raised his hand to ask a question, even I was surprised by what Dave came up with. Once he had the microphone in his hand, Dave said, "Growing up and watching your show, the Q&A segment was always my favourite part. And I'm sure I'm not the only boy who watched and was jealous of the time a boy in the audience asked you for, and received, a kiss on stage. So, I was wondering if I could get a kiss?" The audience started clapping, and I was laughing like an idiot, and Carol said, "Sure...if there was a way to get you up here..." and Dave leapt to his feet and vaulted up onto the stage. Now, they made two announcements prior to the show that photography wouldn't be allowed, and Dave asked the third question of the night (way too early to be asked to leave for breaking rules), and I didn't know that he was going to pull a stunt anyway, so I have no pictures of this, but the exchange went like:

Hi, what's your name?

Dave.

(Huskier voice) And what's your sign?

(Coyly teasing) Guess.

They laugh together, and with hands held, they kiss each others' cheeks to loud cheers and clapping. Dave neatly jumps down from the stage and returns to his seat.

This is the second time Dave has been called up onto this stage (he was chosen to be in an improv thing with Jim Belushi and other Chicago Second City alums a few years ago), and we have sat this close to many, many other famous comedians (everyone from Lily Tomlin, to a duet of Tim Conway and Harvey Korman, to Bob Newhart), but Dave picks this as his favourite memory of all.

As for the rest of the evening: Carol showed some video clips from her TV show, told stories, and took questions. The best questions were people just asking her to tell stories they had heard before, and this was my favourite (someone asked if she and Lucille Ball remained friends after being in some movie together):

I was in an off-Broadway show, early in my career, and on the second night of the run, I was told that Lucy was in the audience. She was my idol, and I told everyone that I was more nervous performing with Lucy in the audience than I had been for the critics the night before. But after the show, Lucy came back to my dressing room - it was small and not very impressive and the couch had a spring sticking out of it, so when Lucy went to sit there, I said, "Watch the..." and she said, "Yeah, I see it" (in a flawless no-nonsense Lucille Ball impression) - and Lucy told me that I had done a great job and that if I ever needed anything from her, don't hesitate to ask.

So a few years later, CBS offered me a Primetime special, but only if I could get a big name to costar with me. The producer said, "There must be someone you know", and I said, "Well, there is Lucille Ball", and the producer said, "Get her on the phone", and I said, "But I don't want to presume..", and the producer said, "Get her on the phone!" So, I call Lucy and say, "Listen, there's this thing at CBS...", and Lucy said, "When do you need me, kid?" (Same flawless no-nonsense Lucille Ball impression).

The week that we were rehearsing the special, I was nervous and excited, and although there were some things in the script that I had problems with, I didn't know how to make myself heard. So during a lunch break one day, Lucy says we should go to this diner to eat. And she throws back a couple of whisky sours and says to me, "You know, kid, when I was married to the Cuban, he used to do everything for me. He'd vet the scripts, and watch production, make sure everything ran smoothly. But when I started The Lucille Ball Show, I didn't have him around anymore. And the first couple of scripts they gave me, I thought, 'These are really not very good', but I didn't know how to tell anybody that; I had never had to tell anybody that before. So I went home on the weekend and looked the scripts over and I just decided, 'No, I'm not going to do it like this', and when I went back to work on the Monday, I told them what was wrong and what kind of changes I'd need and when I'd want them by." Then Lucy put back another whisky sour and said, "And they later told me that that's when they decided to add an 's' to the end of my last name." 

The whole show was like that - funny and intimate and incredible to watch from the front row - and, of course, Carol ended by singing her theme song over some clips of her favourite moments. 

That's why I'm glad we

had this time together