The Carol Burnett Show

Plymouth Arts Center Theatre Company will be presenting sketches from “The Carol Burnett” Comedy Show, one of America’s best and funniest variety shows that aired for over 10 years. For this production, Director Kerrylynn Kraemer chose to present 20 of Carol’s original skits including the all-time favorites “Gone with the Breeze,” and “As The Stomach Turns.” The cast for this production of the Carol Burnett Show includes Tom Clegg, Dan Mahlendorf, Lorraine Selenski, Mandy Radloff, Renee Wachuta, Tehya Wachuta, Kailei Wachuta, Chris Fontaine, Jardin Fontaine, and Kerrylynn Kraemer

History of the Carol Burnett Show: In 1967, CBS offered to put Carol Burnett in a weekly comedy series called Here’s Agnes. However, Burnett had a stipulation in her ten-year contract with CBS that said she had five years from the date The Garry Moore Show ended to “push the button” on hosting thirty one-hour episodes of a music/comedy variety show. As a result, the hour-long Carol Burnett Show was born and debuted in September 1967, garnering 23 Emmy Awards and winning or being nominated for multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Awards every season it was on the air. Its ensemble cast included Tim Conway (who was a guest player until the ninth season,) Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner, and the teenaged Vicki Lawrence, whom Burnett herself discovered and mentored.

A true variety show, The Carol Burnett Show struck a chord with viewers. Among other things, it parodied films (Gone With the Breeze for Gone With the Wind,) television (As the Stomach Turns for the soap opera As the World Turns) and commercials. Musical numbers were also a frequent feature. Burnett and her team struck gold with the original sketch “The Family,” which eventually was spun off into its own television show called Mama’s Family, starring Vicki Lawrence. Burnett opened most shows with an impromptu question-and-answer session with the audience, lasting a few minutes, during which she often demonstrated her ability to humorously ad lib. On numerous occasions, she obliged when asked to perform her trademark Tarzan yell. Burnett ended each show by tugging on her left ear, which was a message to her grandmother who raised her. This was done to let her know that she was doing well and that she loved her.