The moment Carol Burnett graced the stage last Friday night at Massey Hall, the audience leapt to its feet. They clearly wanted to give a separate thank-you, completely outside of the show they were about to see, for the years of laughter that her work has brought into their lives.
Friday’s show was called Laughter and Reflection with Carol Burnett: A Conversation with Carol where the Audience Asks the Questions, and it was precisely that. An effervescent Burnett stood centre stage in a sequined, red skirt-suit and fielded unrehearsed questions from an eager audience, just as she did in the days of The Carol Burnett Show.
David, who asked the first question of the evening, could hardly get the words out. Taking short, nervous breaths, and bowing his head, he muttered, “I can’t believe I’m talking to Carol Burnett.”
Such was the tone of the night.
One by one, from the floor and from the nose-bleeds, golden and green, adoring fans asked the icon questions ranging from, “What was it like working with Walter Matthau?” to “Can I show you the tattoo of you that I got?”
In her responses, Burnett effortlessly reflected the energy of each question right back at its asker. This created a sense in the room that this wasn’t just a Hollywood legend, in whose presence we were all meant to worship, but a lady we already knew — for many people, she was a member of their family during those 11 years that The Carol Burnett Show aired.
She told stories from her work and life. She played some of her favourite clips from the show (stacked with almost every Hollywood A-lister of the time), which elicited the kind of laughter that erupts only when something is completely familiar, yet as funny as it was the first time you saw it.
The show was a quick 90 minutes, and all credit for that is given to Burnett, who certainly understands the comedic concept of “leave them wanting more.”
In a time when reality shows can be produced for, in Burnett’s words, “a buck-98 plus coffee”, they’re just not makin’ 'em like her anymore.
So, I’m so glad we had this time together.