A Prairie Home Companion on Great Performances from American Public Media

A Prairie Home Companion on Great Performances

Garrison Keillor hosts Independence Day Special
on Great Performances

The little town that time forgot takes front and center this July 4 weekend when its best-known citizen and booster hosts Garrison Keillor's Independence Day Special: A Prairie Home Companion at Tanglewood. Premiering Sunday, July 2 at 9 p.m. (ET) on Thirteen/WNET New York's Great Performances on PBS (check local listings), the telecast finds the good people of Lake Wobegon joined by Private Eye Guy Noir, the cowboys Dusty and Lefty, and special guest star Meryl Streep. Also on hand are the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, the Wailin' Jennys, Jearlyn Steele and, of course, the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band. (Program rundown)

"We're celebrating this great country, with great American stories and great American songs," Keillor says, noting that the program marks the town folks' first appearance on the acclaimed Great Performances series. "They're strong, they're good-looking, they're above average, and they are excited. And I get to give my annual Lake Wobegon Fourth of July speech."

Recorded live in performance July 1, Garrison Keillor's Independence Day Special: A Prairie Home Companion at Tanglewood is a co-production of Prairie Home Productions and Thirteen/WNET New York. Alan Carter directs.