Chevy Chase show a great success for Kirby

Sunday was a big night for the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts.

The grand old building was packed to the rafters, so to speak. If there was an empty seat in the house, we certainly didn’t see it.

The building was also filled with laughter and holiday cheer as the big crowd came out for a showing of the Christmas classic “Christmas Vacation” and hear its star talk about the film and his career.

Many consider the movie the top Christmas flick of all-time. (Some of us here whole-heartedly agree with that assessment. At least one of us – while agreeing the film is fantastic – believes the original “Miracle on 34th Street” stands alone.)

The movie and its star – Chevy Chase – did not disappoint.

Fans roared at the antics of over-zealous Clark Griswold and his band of misfit relatives and neighbors. At some points during the movie, the laughs landed before the jokes did.

And several theatergoers could be heard answering, “I don’t know, Todd,” when Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character is asked “Why is the floor wet?”

For his part, Chase was simply marvelous. At 80 years old, he’s lost none of his comic wit from a career that has spanned six decades. (And yes, Mr. Chase, the city’s name is pronounced wilks ba·ree.) He answered questions about the movie, told tales from his career and even admonished those who made the mistake of trying to leave the show a bit early.

“Hey, where the hell are you going?” he shouted at one point as an audience member left their seat.

“Do you believe this (expletive)?” he asked the rest of the audience.

But the night was bigger for the Kirby Center for more than just the great show. It was a clear sign that the big theater on Public Square was back after a bit of bad luck tried to knock it down has hard of one of Chevy’s pratfalls from “Christmas Vacation.”

Just a few weeks ago, the staff at the Kirby had to scramble when a water main break caused flooding in the facility’s basement. Performances were canceled or hastily rescheduled. The theater went dark, and the Kirby turned to its adorning public to ask for help.

On Sunday night, all of that was distant memory. Fans crowded the lobby before the show, buying souvenirs, drinks and snacks at what had to be one of the venue’s biggest turnouts this year.

Except for a couple of bathrooms that remain closed, the theater was operating at full force, and those of us that were lucky enough to be on hand didn’t hear a single complaint.

We highly recommend you take the time to check out a show at the Kirby if you haven’t done so recently. We are sure you will be overjoyed with the experience.

Of course, until you get a chance to do that, you can keep yourself busy following the exploits of the Griswold family. We hear their family trip to Las Vegas didn’t go any smoother than their Christmas celebration.

Isn’t that right, Mr. Papageorgio?

– Times Leader