From reports-by-committee

To get the jolly/joyous holiday season into full-swing, longtime ventriloquist The Great Keith: Solemn Ventriloquist will make his first appearance on a Bass Lake stage.

A veteran of the voice-throwing-with-dummy genre, The Great Keith is set to perform at 8 p.m. Friday at Bass Lake’s Newest Venue on Outskirts Avenue, located on Outskirts Avenue.

It marks the grand opening of the new club, constructed almost unnoticed in the wake of a tragic event that took place in June 2014.

The Great Keith, whose real name is Keith T. Great, hails from Michianapolis, and is well-respected in the niche-entertainment circuit. Mr. T.G. Keith has two DVDs to his credit: “Private Gastromancer” (1999) and “Sea of Ventriloquy” (2007).

Between those bookends was a book, “Dummies for Dummies” in 2003. It was written by someone else.

Keith’s act is unique, he insists.

“Most ventriloquists rely heavily on humor,” Great said during a 45-second phone-text Q&A with the Beacon. “Not me. This is serious entertainment.”

Forrest Bunkard, formerly erstwhile entertainment critic at the Beacon, describes The Great Keith as “Lewis Black reborn as a hybrid of Charlie McCarthy and Joseph McCarthy, with “In Utero”-period Kurt Cobain as his agent.”

“I admit, I’ve never seen one of Keith’s gigs,” Bunkard added during a restroom chat. “But looking at reviews on his website, that’s the impression I get.”

A national reviewer put it more succinctly: “I laughed, I cried — but for the most part, I sulked.”

Tickets are $3 in advance, $3 at the door, and free for seniors or people who arrive dressed as Frosty the Snowman. A cash bar is unlikely. No refunds.

Editor’s note: Forrest Bunkard has once again been relieved of his role as a Beacon contributor.