Dolly Parton, Fran Drescher, Kerry Washington and More Join the Guerilla TV Movement

Katherine McPhee (above right) and husband David Foster (left) are using both Instagram and YouTube to present The Kat & Dave Show, a hand-held entertainment treat highlighting their obvious talents for song and dance and the occasional comedy skit.  This new take on The Sonny & Cher Show is for the most part very low-tech but does surprise at times thanks to a lot of imagination and the addition of some cleverly inserted existing video clips.  Check out Katherine’s 2005 American Idol audition and you’ll see what we mean.

Broadway.com continues to shine a light on the currently dimmed lights of Broadway with the chat show Live at Five: Home Edition.  Calling on some of the biggest names from those darkened theaters, hosts Paul Wontorek, Beth Stevens and Caitlin Moynihan are broadcasting live from their homes to provide informative Broadway behind-the-scenes tidbits before launching into the main event -- checking in with their big-name, quarantined guests like Kristen Chenoweth live from wherever they are self-isolating.  With the growing guest list continually looking like a who’s who of theater, it’s definitely worth a viewing.

Kerry Washington (above, top), currently starring opposite Reese Witherspoon in Hulu’s streaming series Little Fires Everywhere, is using Instagram Live to present a series entitled Fireside Chats.  The show combines interviews with her current co-stars, filmed in the “good old days” when social interaction was permitted, along with Facetime chats with the likes of former Scandal co-star Tony Goldwyn (above, bottom), whom she called to wish a happy Scandalversary.  It’s interesting to note how proficient Washington is proving to be sitting on the other side of the talk-show couch.

Famed for her storytelling via song, Dolly Parton (pictured at top) has taken those talents to her bedroom for a read-aloud series entitled Goodnight with Dolly, currently streaming on YouTube. Using books accepted into her Imagination Library charity (a program that provides lower income families with books they may not be able to afford), along with some background on the books themselves, Parton’s entertaining presentations have made them a must-see for parents possibly needing a ten-minute break.  And come on, who doesn’t want to have a goodnight story read to them by Dolly Parton at least once in their lifetime?

Fans of the hit ‘90s sitcom The Nanny got to enjoy a spirited reunion April 6 when the entire cast (and some bonus alumni) gathered for a one-off event: a virtual table read of the show’s pilot episode from 1993 (organized in association with Sony, which produced the original series).  Although it wasn’t the reboot fans have been asking for, the reading again proved you don’t need big budgets and big sets to provide 22 minutes of wonderful entertainment -- and it made clear that should a reboot ever happen this cast still has “it.”  As we previously reported, series star Fran Drescher is developing a musical adaptation of The Nanny.  But it’s anyone’s guess when that will come together.  Fortunately, you can catch a recording of this Nanny reunion online right now.

As we have noted before, with no one sure when normality might be restored to production schedules, and more and more social distancing being encouraged, more stars will certainly be creating their own Guerrilla TV to make us all feel connected and not quite so isolated.

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