LITTLE BOWL ON THE PRAIRIE GARRISON KEILLOR BRINGS HIS SMALL-TOWN PHENOMENON TO L.A.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

The venue is big. The program -- despite its enormous following -- is decidedly small-town.

No matter. Author/humorist Garrison Keillor has enjoyed visiting the Hollywood Bowl since he was a guest of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in 1994.

Last season, for the first time, Keillor taped his much-beloved -- and much-traveled -- ``A Prairie Home Companion'' at the Bowl, the largest arena from which ``PHC'' has ever broadcast. The program plays a return engagement Friday night.

So how do the tidings from Lake Wobegon, the adventures of Guy Noir and the homespun advice of the Ketchup Advisory Board play to a live audience of nearly 15,000 people? Quite nicely, say the cast members, as long as you make some adjustments.

``The way we do the live sketches, the laughs kind of roll up the hill. Then they roll back down the hill,'' says ``PHC'' cast member Sue Scott. ``That proved for some creative timing on our part. There's a second or two of a time delay from the people at the back of the house. That's just the nature of the setting. We're ready for it this year.''

``The most interesting thing for me as an audience member was seeing how they do it live,'' adds the Bowl's Steve Linder, director of presentations for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. ``Many of us have listened to his show for ages, and we know (cast member) Sue Scott and the whole cast, but we never get a chance to see what they actually do.

``With the addition of the screens and the new shell (at the Bowl), it makes things that much more interesting for the audience to see what's happening. It plays really well as a live event, even in a venue as large as the Hollywood Bowl.''

Over the course of its 32-year history, there haven't been many venues from which ``PHC'' hasn't played expertly. Based at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul, Minn., the two-hour program is broadcast locally by KPCC-FM (89.3) in Los Angeles and KCLU-FM (88.3 in Thousand Oaks). Some 4 million listeners across 580 radio stations nationally and abroad tune in weekly to Keillor's monologue ``News From Lake Wobegon,'' the music of Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, assorted skits and songs, and whatever special guests happen to drop in.

< The timing for ``PHC's'' return engagement in L.A. couldn't be more fortuitous. The film version of ``A Prairie Home Companion,'' written by Keillor and directed by Robert Altman, opens in Los Angeles on June 9, and the films' stars -- Meryl Streep, Virginia Madsen and John C. Reilly -- will be special guests and participants at Friday night's show. The program will be taped Friday for a Saturday afternoon and evening broadcast.

Reilly, who plays singing cowboy Dusty in the film, traveled with ``PHC'' for its broadcast from the National Theater of Iceland in Reykjavik. ``He told us, `OK, this is what I'm going to do when I stop making movies,''' recalls Scott. ``We said, `OK, thanks for announcing it to us.' ''

Tim Russell, like Scott a ``PHC'' regular performer, figures the movie actors who have been dropping in as special guests of late must be enjoying the high-wire act of working with little preparation and no second takes.

``When they get to that level, they've all gone through experiences like this, but they just don't get to do it on a regular basis,'' says Russell. ``It must be fun for them to look quickly at a script and virtually audition on the spot.''

Even with scripts in hand and years of experience along the ``Prairie,'' the show veterans have experienced program drama of their own, most frequently from producer Keillor, who has been known to make changes on the fly.

``I remember once I was reading a Ketchup Advisory Board commercial, and Garrison decided to lop off about 30 seconds of it,'' recalls Russell. ``So he reached both arms around me, and started slashing away at the script. I kept reading, and it worked along just fine, but it was an interesting sensation.''

Evan Henerson, [phone]

[e-mail]

A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION WITH GARRISON KEILLOR

Where: Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood.

When: 8 p.m. Friday.

Tickets: $13 to $17. [phone] or www.hollywoodbowl.com.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

Garrison Keillor, at right, reads on stage in ``A Prairie Home Companion.'' The L.A. incarnation on Friday will feature Meryl Streep, John C. Reilly and Virginia Madsen, stars of the upcoming film version.