Carpe Risus: Seize the Laughter Variety show presents skits from ‘Carol Burnett Show’

Catch one of Carpe Risus’s variety shows this weekend and you’ll be so glad you had that time together.

Two dozen actors within the community theater troupe are presenting four shows filled with skits from the old “Carol Burnett Show” at the Colonnade in Ringgold, Ga., Friday through Sunday, Feb. 3-5.

The iconic television comedy show aired from 1967 to 1978. Burnett and castmates Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence and Tim Conway set the standard in comedy sketches during those 11 seasons, winning three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Program.

Calling the television comedy “timeless,” Carpe Risus director John Lee predicts this weekend’s audiences will “laugh at the zany antics until their sides split.”

Just as carpe diem translates to “seize the day,” Carpe Risus is Latin for “seize the laughter.” That’s the goal of this theatrical company that’s been together 18 months. Its actors come from Chattanooga and North Georgia.

Bobby Daniels, who is acting in and emceeing this weekend’s performances, says the company purchased rights from Carol Burnett’s publishing company to present these sketches.

“They have a certain number of scripts set aside that they release to the public. There are about 30 in total, and we picked 10 of them. These were skits on the show that were definitely favorites.”

Among the 10 in this weekend’s show are “Proudly We Heal,” set in the World War II era; “The Howl and the Pussycat,” in which an actor reacts negatively to allergy testing; and “The Show Must Go On.” Daniels describes the latter as a “skit within a skit” that gives the audience a backstage peek at actors preparing to go onstage when a situation develops that flows onto the stage during their performance.

Burnett’s infamous spinoff of “Gone With the Wind,” in which she saunters down the staircase of Tara wearing the green velvet curtain dress still on the curtain pole, is not included in this show due to unavailability.

“There are two versions of that skit: ‘ Went With the Wind’ and ‘ Gone With the Breeze,’” says Daniel.

“The one that includes the curtain rod is in a ver- sion not released to the public. We’re doing neither (of the available skits), because if you do it without the curtain rod, you’d probably be booed off the stage,” he jokes.

Daniels says Carpe Risus debuted a similar variety show last year, but he assures ticketholders that more than half of the 10 skits in this program are new. The 10 are divided into two acts, and Daniels says the Southern Belles vocal ensemble will perform once in each act.

This will be an open-curtain show, which Daniels believes will add to the night’s laughs.

“Once the curtain goes up, we don’t close it for set changes. We incorporate fun into the set changes so the audience sees what’s going on. We have some fun with our janitors, too — we like to call them the League of Extraordinary Janitors.”

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Bobby Daniels, left, and Ed Huckabee rehearse a scene in “Seize the Laughter,” featuring skits from the old “Carol Burnett Show.”