What do you do after you’ve been a highly acclaimed weatherman in the hottest media market in the country? You might think that person would ferret out some south sea island with perfect climate and retire there. But not Fritz Coleman. He has gone on to craft one after another solo shows that continue his relationship with his fan-base, but this time, person-to-person.
Coleman has just completed a sold-out run of his latest show Unassisted Residency at El Portal, but the demand has kept building. In response, he continues once a month through May to share his folksy tales of life after retirement.
At one of his recent presentations, Fritz started unobtrusively by shuffling onstage to introduce Wendy, his opening comic, who entertained all with her “Soccer Mom” jokes. When Coleman shuffled back on stage, he was still self-effacing, letting the audience know that, although he flunked both Algebra I & II and Geometry in high school, he picked up his trade on the job. He quipped that he was “Vanna with maps.” Obviously, he got the job with his personality; not his meteorology expertise. But his current message is focused toward his over-60 fans — how to make a success of retirement — from dealing with grandchildren, whether babysitting them or not, to “old age” dating and sex.
In his low-key way, Coleman is always welcoming, entertaining questions from the audience at the end of his performance. It is obvious that the scores of thousands of Southern California news-watchers of the past want to celebrate their earlier days with their favorite TV personality. To accommodate them, Coleman has added performance dates so that they can return to the days of yester-year armed with good advice from their favorite weatherman. After all, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, we DO need a weatherman to know the way the wind blows!
Fritz Coleman’s Unassisted Residence:LIVE! continues at the El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601. The show continues on the following day and time on selected dates: Sundays from 3 – 5 pm, on Feb. 25, March 24, April 28 and May 26th. Go to ci.orvationtix.com for cocktail table tickets at $45; $35 general admission is also available on the website.
