John McGivern puts on a good show. I learned this last night when I participated as a live audience member as MPTV taped "A Midsummer Night McGivern" for later broadcast.

The show included a series of vignettes from John's childhood summers growing up in Milwaukee. John is a Milwaukee boy through and through, and his site-specific references endear him to his hometown audience. Well, they certainly endeared him to me.

John had the audience laughing, crying and singing along with him. At one point, you could have heard a pin drop. He held the entire crowd in the palm of his hand while taking us on a great big, nostalgic rollercoaster ride.

There are a few adjectives I would use to describe John McGivern: funny, sincere, authentic, squirrely, honest, open, talented, generous and ... a sissy.

John generously gave his time and talent to emcee the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) campaign finale preceding the show. UPAF managed to exceed their 2007 goal of $10.35 million with a total of $10, 412,727. So, I, for one, was in the mood for celebrating the generosity of the Milwaukee community and all of Milwaukee's outstanding performing arts groups.

Seeing John McGivern's show was the perfect way to top off a really great day. Milwaukeeans are lucky to have John McGivern among our ranks.

Thanks, John! You rule!

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