This American Life, Live... On The Big Screen!
By Melissa Wiley in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 18, 2012 3:00PM
Some things you just have to see to believe, and This American Life is one of them. The iconic radio show is again taking to the stage so you can see as well as hear all the off-beat, unflinchingly honest action. On Thursday, May 10 at the Skirball Center at New York University, Ira Glass and company will broadcast the show’s signature first-person gambols live to theaters nationwide. This American Life - Live! will air at 7 p.m. in Chicago, with an encore performance Tuesday, May 15 at 7:30 pm in select theaters. Presented by NCM Fathom Events, WBEZ, and BY Experience in collaboration with Public Radio International (PRI), the visual narrative extravaganza will air in more than 550 movie theaters in the US and Canada.
Appropriately enough, the show’s theme will be “The Invisible Made Visible,” with (in)visibility-inspired true-life stories from renowned raconteurs David Rakoff, Tig Notaro, and Snap Judgment host Glynn Washington. Lending the show its visual dimension will be a new short film by Mike Birbiglia, live music by OK Go, dance by Monica Bill Barnes & Company, original animation and illustration, and special surprise guests.
"I saw this amazing dance performance by Monica Bill Barnes' company, and I thought —that is totally in the style of our radio show," said Glass. "But obviously you can't have dance on the radio. Then I realized we have to do another cinema event! We've built this lineup of stories mixed with super visual things, including the dancers I saw that night, so it's going to feel like the radio show but also totally unlike anything we've done before. I really can't wait to see how it turns out."
See for yourself along with Ira—live! You can purchase tickets here.