Dreamland Tonight debuts

By David Gomez
Mar. 2, 2010    ·    10:22 a.m.

Most popular talk shows are hosted in a few cities, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

Ypsilanti can now be added to that list with the debut of Dreamland Tonight, hosted by Ypsilanti’s own Mark Maynard.

The show took place in Dreamland Theater, and they also added some of their wacky flair as well.

Theater-goers expecting to see local blogger Mark Maynard on stage doing his best Conan imitation were instead treated to the puppet version of Maynard.

The intro for the show shows Maynard in the bathroom at the Dreamland minding his own business when out of nowhere he is ambushed by puppets from Dreamland. They kidnap the real Mark for the evening and send him to another dimension and the audience get the puppet version of Mark sitting in his host chair.

While the goal of the show was entertaining the audience, there was also a serious aspect to the show. Ypsilanti Mayor Paul Schreiber was the first guest.

Audience members were exposed to a side of the mayor they may have not seen before, his humorous side.

Maynard asked the Mayor several questions about his son Tim’s music career. Mark had several questions for the Mayor about “The Booty Don’t Stop.”

For those who may not know, “The Booty Don’t Stop” is something of a legend around these parts. A few years ago, Nigel Morgan was walking down the street in Ypsilanti one day and found an unmarked cassette tape lying on the ground.

The tape, which is considered by many to be “booty bliss,” circulated around southeast Michigan for a few years and grew in popularity until Tim admitted the tape was his creation. The Mayor fielded many questions about the tape and his son’s musical prowess.

While the Mayor was a good sport, he gave the impression that he was expecting a more serious interview covering important issues.

Maynard eventually moved on to a few questions that held some weight. He asked the Mayor about the Ypsilanti School Board’s plan to close two elementary schools. He also asked about the police and fire fighters facing layoffs.

The Mayor’s responses were well crafted and about what you would expect from someone who announced live during the show that he was going to seek another term.

Maynard did a great job touching on serious issues many Ypsilantians are concerned about. The fact that it was a puppet asking these questions added a bit of silliness to the situation, but it was also quite entertaining.

There was also some comedy and music to go along with the talk show format. Audience members participated in a falafel-eating contest. Falafel from Pita Pita was brought in for an all-out eating competition.

The winner, Keelan, was awarded a free tattoo from Liquid Swords as a prize. The tattoo Maynard originally wanted to give the winner was a drawing of Mayor Schreiber. Since the Mayor seemed horrified someone would deface their body with a tattoo of his likeness, a second tattoo was awarded, one of Ypsilanti Falafel King Patrick Elkins.

And yes, she really went across the street and had a tattoo done.

To round out the show Maynard booked musical guest Soul Spit. Their mellow grooves were the perfect way to end an entertaining show.

The boys from Soul Spit even talked with puppet Mark for a bit on stage, they sat on each others' laps so they could all fit. He gave them a hard time for performing such a mellow song on an otherwise high energy evening.

Friday was the first show in what will hopefully become a monthly event at the Dreamland Theater.

Do yourself a favor and check out this month’s show. Maynard will return March 19 with another episode of Dreamland Tonight. Tickets are $7.

On the Web:
The Booty Don’t Stop CD by Quack Media
Mark Maynard’s blog>/a>