Puttin' on the Raue

Somehow, my name and address has ended up in possession of the Raue Center for the Arts, a theater I’ve never been to in Crystal Lake, Ill., and I received a flier in the mail the other day promoting its 2006-07 season. The following acts will be appearing there:

Entertainer-----Ticket Price----How Much I Would Pay

Ed McMahon------$58, $54--------$0
George Carlin---$89, $85--------$10
Pat Boone-------$52, $48--------$2.50
Leonard Nemoy---$58, $54--------$5
Paula P-stone---$39, $35--------$2.50
Jim Brickman----$51, $47--------(who?)
Lily Tomlin-----$89, $85--------$10

That’s only a small selection of acts, selected from among the better-known names. The only one of them I have in fact seen in person was Lily Tomlin, in the late 1980s in Chicago. I don’t remember how much I paid, but it wasn’t remotely near $80.

(About $20 would be my guess, and since I’ve seen her, I don’t really need to again at that price. Still, it was a good show, and one line has stuck with me all these years: she called something “useless as an acid flashback.”)

The season at the Raue also includes presidential impersonators (Jefferson and TR), tribute bands, Celtic stompers, big bands, bluegrass, a handful of plays and a couple of Christmas shows. Almost all overpriced. Some more than others, of course. Fifty-plus dollars for Ed MaMahon? Sheesh.