Thumb Puns: Surprisingly Hard To Come By

I, too, was present at the soon to be infamous -- or at least kinda neat -- opening of The Factory Theater's Siskel and Ebert Save Chicago. You know, the opening of Siskel and Ebert Save Chicago that was attended by Mr. Roger Ebert himself?

Ebert was the last person to sneak in right before the show began, but that didn't stop the expected audience murmur -- it was possibly a matter of two or three minutes before the entire audience was hushing each other and not-so-casually glancing over shoulders. It didn't seem to hurt audience response at all, though. Ebert jokes were laughed at just as readily as Oprah, Roeper, and Mancow jokes, and while I was sitting a few rows ahead of the man himself and didn't see his reaction, I heard from numerous sources that Ebert was also just as readily laughing at Ebert jokes (and perhaps a little more readily at Roeper's?).

I had some friends in the cast, so I stuck around post-show for a little while, and when the buzz (quickly) spread through the cast that Ebert had been their, they rushed outside to catch sight of him. They got there just in time to see him and his wife driving off, and as they went wild with applause, Ebert rolled down his window and stuck out the famous thumb. It was pointed towards the sky, of course. Very rarely have I seen a cast in such ecstasy -- Ebert was a hero of the day, both onstage and off.

I have no delusions of Oprah leaving her fortress to see the show, but what say you, Roeper? Up for a little playful ribbing?

P.Rekk
2007