Maumee, OH – A wintery mix-turned-snowstorm didn’t stop fans of Darci Lynne from coming to the Maumee Indoor Theatre Friday night for the third stop in her Up Close and Personal Tour. Fans stood outside in the below-freezing temperatures as snow piled onto their clothing, trying to get the best seat they could find in the first-come, first-serve seating arrangement.
Lynne, an up-and-coming ventriloquist, though popular in her own right, brought fans of all ages around the area to watch the highly anticipated, sold-out show. Kids could be seen carrying around their favorite puppets in various sizes. Darci Lynne T-shirts were worn proudly, while the adults conversed about how many shows they’ve seen, how long they’ve been fans and how they got roped into making their children’s night.
Lynne made her way to stardom at the age of 12 by auditioning for season 12 of NBC’s hit show America’s Got Talent. She went on to win the season after receiving the golden buzzer from judge Mel B in the audition round. Now, at 20 years old and roughly eight years into her career, Lynne has a following that allows her to sell out venues, much like the indoor theatre in Maumee.
At the age of 12, most kids struggle to cope with a full-on schedule that doesn’t necessarily involve much “play time.” I asked Lynne about her life back then, particularly how her busy schedule affected her schooling.
“When I won AGT, I was in seventh grade. I’d basically go to school Tuesday through Thursday, leave on Friday, do one show on Saturday and another one on Sunday, go back home Monday, and repeat that process. That’s how I wanted to do it for the longest time. School was a really good grounding for me, helping me feel normal.” Lynne continued, “Then it just got too much, and in high school, I went and did all four years online.”
Lynne went on to say how she attended her prom and walked at graduation as she was still enrolled in the public school system. Though she “didn’t physically go,” it was something Lynne and her family deemed an important milestone and kept her a little bit grounded. Balancing school, friends and her career was all a learning curve she had to navigate.
It takes a village to get a tour on the road, and there are many things behind the scenes no one gets to see, which could also be a learning curve for Lynne.
“A lot of people don’t realize how tedious it is to prep for a tour. There are so many aspects to consider as opposed to a singer, actor and even stand-up comedian. There is a lot that gets intertwined: the material that I do with the puppets that we have, writing and refining the songs each puppet will sing, and when and where to cut each song. The flow of the show.” Lynne would go on to mention that most people don’t think about the travelling and months of preparation it takes to get all the material perfected and memorized.
At 7 p.m., the music stopped playing from the speakers. The crowd took their seats and began to quiet down. Opening for Darci Lynne was a comedian, Neil Synder, from Mad Hatter Shows (the company that helped bring this tour to the Toledo, Ohio area). Snyder’s 15-minute set got the crowd warmed up and laughing with a series of jokes about his life, dating and universal truth jokes.
The audience was asked not to record either set for the sake of the people attending the rest of the tour in different cities. Out of respect for that, and for anyone who may read this to try to get a glimpse at any of the jokes said before attending a show in the future, this review will obey those requests as well.
Lynne took the stage to a loud applause with Petunia, one of her original puppets. Immediately, she got the crowd laughing with her ability to not take life too seriously and even knock on herself a little bit with food jokes (something Petunia is known for, as she is the diva of the group). Like the diva she is, Petunia popped into a song about how Lynne is popular because of her. Lynne did admit part of the “extra” energy Petunia showcased on stage was because the Toledo Mudhens, a minor league team to the Detroit Tigers, were not playing yet. “Petunia loves baseball,” Lynne would say.
After a few words to the crowd, the character she relates to the most, Rock the House Mo-Town Mouse, Oscar, came to the stage. Oscar would make more jokes on Lynne’s expense and talk about God, among other things, and would eventually burst into song about his fear and superstitions.
Lynne, after having the house lights come on, saw how many kids were in the audience, so she did an activity that got them involved in the show, which was a nice touch. Lynne then knocked on herself for being the “child who talked to themselves,” which ultimately began her journey into a ventriloquism career. Continuing with fan interaction, Lynne picked out two members in the audience, Rich and Amy, to meet her on the stage for a competition. This section was my favorite of the show as it took Lynne’s showmanship skills to the next level. How this idea came up, I have no idea, but it got the best laughs of the night and would make a section of Petunia’s vision board come true with the performance Rich and Amy put on.
Next on stage was a new “kooky, but with a big heart” friend, Andy. Lynne and Andy immediately made the show better when a minor mishap occurred with the stand Andy sat on, but they both rolled with it and made some spur-of-the-moment jokes that landed extremely well. The show went on quickly after, and it seemed the crowd loved the new character. The quick and nonchalant responses to Lynne’s questions made the character very fun to watch. Andy himself would rag on Lynne, showing again how she can make jokes at her own expense and not take life too seriously. A microphone issue led to some fun on-the-spot jokes that, yet again, landed perfectly with the crowd. Andy would go on to talk about the other characters and sing a song.
My personal favorite, Edna, came onto the stage next with Lynne. Much like Andy, Edna had an issue when she got into her stage spot and required some extra help. After being fixed, she told the crowd about some of the things she’s been up to. Notoriously, Edna is known as the “naughty old lady, ” so she seeks out a man in the crowd to fall in love with and cracks witty one-liners to go with it. The adult crowd seemed to love this section, as the jokes were made for them, and much like old time Disney movies, went over the kids heads. Using more crowd involvement, Edna and Lynne invited the man onto the stage to sing a song to him.
Petunia came back, like an “extra” diva would, and ended the show with two beautiful songs. That is what makes the show for me: Darci Lynne’s talent and her ability to not get thrown off by a few miscues like what happened in Maumee. She’s perfected the ability to not show her mouth moving while on stage with each character.
With that, it is amazing how Lynne can juggle all of the characters and keep their personalities going with each unique set of jokes. During my interview, I asked Lynne about just that — I wanted a glimpse into what goes on inside to make these personalities come to life.
“I think some of my puppets have characteristics of people in my life, or people I know, but a lot of it just comes from my brain. I’ve always been pretty creative, but it is kind of hard to explain because they just really come from my brain and my thoughts, but some of the characteristics are based off of people I know.”
Social media plays a big role in every performer’s life. It is how you keep your fan base engaged. One thing fans can get a lot of is content from everyone involved on this tour. I was curious to know a little bit more about what goes into creating her reels and if she finds it fun and creative.
“I kind of just try to have fun with social media. I do a lot of other sketches and skit-type videos with the puppets. You know, social media is weird because you can post a random video that you didn’t work hard on, and it’ll go viral, but a video you put a lot of effort into will flop! So I feel like I haven’t quite figured it out or mastered social media, or if anyone really ever will, but it is a fun tool for sure!”
It can be a funny thing to find your place in the world. Lynne didn’t imagine being a ventriloquist and considered it more of a hobby. She told me she envisioned being a gymnast or singer before her success on AGT. She saw it as a dying art, but then it exceeded all her expectations, and she fell in love with the art form. It seems to be a mission of hers to get vintriloquism back to being appreciated — to have people respect it much like we respect doctors, first responders, and even stage performers in general.
So go out and see this show. It’ll be a night to remember. It’ll be a night for your kids to remember. A fun date night filled with laughter. There are jokes for everyone involved and some really good singing as well.
Thank you, Darci and your team, for allowing us to review the show and for taking the time to answer questions. It was a pleasure.