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‘Almost Live!’ the backstory
Published in the Seattle Times online on Aug. 23, 2024
and in Pacific NW Magazine of the printed Times on Aug. 25, 2024
‘Comedy makes meaning out of a place,’ says MOHAI’s ‘Almost Live!’ exhibit champion Clara Berg
By Clay Eals
The first person I encountered in researching today’s cover story embodies the belief that “Almost Live!” — and the penchant to razz ourselves — will endure for generations.
Clara Berg is the longtime costume and textiles specialist for the Museum of History & Industry who was in 2019 became collections curator. She also prompted the museum’s celebration of the local TV comedy show’s 40th anniversary.
The number 40 is special to Berg. It’s the age she turned in June, so she was born just three months ahead of the show’s birth.
When she grew up in Madison Park and Sand Point, “Almost Live!” was a sleepover treat. When the pandemic began, she learned that a family friend, Stan Kaufman, had recorded and digitized 110 hours of episodes. He shared the files, and she binged on the trove and began lobbying museum brass to mount an exhibit.
Her persistence prevailed. Today “Almost Live! (Almost an Exhibit)” opens Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in the second-floor gallery that recently spotlighted Seattle baseball and “The Boys in the Boat.” The display includes video clips, an interactive contest and unique artifacts, such as the buzzer-chime machine that director Steve Wilson rigged up for game-show bits.
True to her fashionable field, Berg also is featuring colorful clothing on loan from the show’s stars. Think John Keister’s monologue shirts and Tracey Conway’s “Worst Girlfriend in the World” outfit.
In sketch comedy, Berg notes, the duds are as vital as the words: “You have to tell the audience who these characters are in a very short amount of time. One way to do that is costume.”
For Berg, now of Capitol Hill, the neighborhoods the “Almost Live!” characters parodied became a civic anchor. This is true for countless locals and Northwest transplants alike.
“Comedy makes meaning out of a place,” she says. “You can only make fun of Seattle if there are tropes that we know of. One thing that people really loved about ‘Almost Live!’ is that people felt, ‘Oh, they mentioned Kent, they mentioned Puyallup, it’s me, it’s us,’ and I think that’s what people respond to. It feels like it’s home, and getting to be part of the joke is exciting and fun.
“Overall, a huge amount of ‘Almost Live!’ is still so funny and entertaining. It’s also joyful. It’s made me proud and happy, and that means something.”
Berg hopes the exhibit pleases ardent “Almost Live!” fans and cultivates new ones. “Younger people are nostalgic,” she says. “The 1990s are back in.”
Every successful project needs a passionate champion. We who cannot navigate this wacky world without laughter can thank our own lucky stars for Clara Berg.
(Click here to get back to the intro page on “Almost Live!”)