I wanted it to be the way it was. Not the exact way, of course, not in black and white and not with Dave Maynard as host. But exact in some ways. I wanted it to be honest and humble and homey. Because that’s what it used to be. “Community Auditions” was a locally produced talent show, which aired on Sunday mornings for 37 years. Gene Burns was its first host, then came Maynard. For two decades it ran on WBZ, then moved to WCVB and got a new name: “The Dave Maynard Talent Showcase.” But everyone still called it “Community Auditions.”

There was never anything fancy about the show. Contestants stood on a bare stage, the Community Auditions sign dangling in the background, and they sang or they danced or they played the accordion or they juggled for a television audience, who voted by postcard for their favorite contestant.

At the end of the show, all the performers made a chorus line with Maynard in the middle and they sang the show’s theme, “Star of the day, who will it be? Your vote will hold the key. It’s up to you” — everyone flung out an arm, index finger pointed — “Tell us who will be star of the day.”

This Was My Favorite Part

You had to wait an entire week to find out who won back then. Postcards needed to be counted. It was the original cliffhanger, a show that hooked you. Sometimes — many times — I skipped church for it. And when I was older and had children of my own, I let them skip church sometimes, too. So when my husband shouted from the family room last Sunday night, “You won’t believe what’s on TV. It’s ’Community Auditions,’” I, of course, came running. And there it was, on Channel 18.

I wanted to hear the “Star of the Day” song. But except for a few familiar notes, this was skipped. Tony Staffieri, the show’s publicist, says that they are working on this, that the show is new and that they are adjusting as they go, and that the theme song will be a part of this new show. I hope so. I’d have liked a Dave Maynard, too, someone sincere and encouraging and low-key.

But low-key is not how TV works today. Which is why this new “Community Auditions” has two very cheery hosts, Lori Grande from WKLB and Jackson Blue from Kiss 108. It must make Maynard happy to see that it takes two people spinning cartwheels to do a job he did all by himself for 23 years.

The new show has a big band, too, not just a piano. And it has a real audience, not just a few people sitting around a television studio in some folding chairs. And it has a glitzy stage. And because it’s taped at Foxwoods Resort & Casino, it doesn’t look like the old “Community Auditions” at all. But then the contestants perform, only four last week, not six or seven as in the original show, because that’s all there’s time for. The hosts banter, and there are three judges and they all talk. But when the talent begins?

It Really Is Like The Old “Community Auditions”

They were all singers last week — three girls and a guy with a Frank Sinatra voice — and they made me think about all the little girls who belted out “The sun’ll come out tomorrow” and all the men who sang “To dream the impossible dream.” And all the sometimes wonderful, sometimes awful renditions of “You Light Up My Life” I heard over the years. “Community Auditions” lasted longer on TV than any other show nation wide because even when it was awful, it was wonderful. Because it was raw and it was real and it was local and it was unpretentious. The new “Community Auditions” airs Sunday night, not Sunday morning.

It’s on many New England stations, not just one, at 7:30 p.m. It has different rules: Contestants who win four times in a row go on to compete with each other in a grand finale. Contestants who don’t win by judge and audience vote can be part of that finale if they get enough e-mail votes.

Unlike its predecessor, this “Community Auditions” is taped. And most unlike its predecessor, it is very contemporary. But it’s old-fashioned in its purpose — to showcase local talent. “We really want to pay homage to the original show,” says producer Chuck Armstrong, who used to watch the show with his grandmother when he was a boy. Honest, humble, and homey.

These ingredients led to a 37-year run. Here’s hoping that happens again.

Canton resident Beverly Beckham can be reached at bevbeckham[at]aol.com. She reads and talks about her columns in her weekly podcast at boston.com/news/podcasts.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 20th, 2007 at 10:01 am and is filed under show. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.