Garrison Keillor to stage ‘Prairie Home’ at its old St. Paul home for 50th anniversary in July

Eight years after last hosting “A Prairie Home Companion” in the city that first put Lake Wobegon on the map, Garrison Keillor will head up a 50th anniversary edition of his radio show at St. Paul’s Fitzgerald Theater on July 13.

Some of the mainstay “Prairie Home” cast members — including Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Fred Newman and musician Rich Dworsky — will join Keillor at the golden anniversary staging, along with singers Heather Masse and Christine DiGiallonardo. Tickets start at $50 and officially go on sale Jan. 16 at 10 a.m. via axs.com. Presale options have already begun.

The Fitzgerald Theater was home to “Prairie Home” for nearly four decades, going back to 1978 when it was still known as the World Theater. Former “APHC” distributor Minnesota Public Radio sold the theater in 2018 to First Avenue Productions.

MPR is conspicuously not mentioned or involved in the marketing of these 50th anniversary shows, which are also being staged in 11 other cities this year prior to St. Paul.

Keillor was contentiously fired by MPR in 2017 following allegations of inappropriate behavior with a woman who worked there, accusations that Keillor denied. He had already relinquished hosting duties of the show a year earlier, when musician Chris Thile of Nickel Creek took over and began a four-year stint as host of the rebranded “Live From Here.”

The original host, now 81, and his former employer eventually settled their differences enough to avoid a lawsuit and allow public access to an archive of old “Prairie Home” episodes. Keillor has continued to tour and perform without using the name of his old show in recent years. He also hosts a podcast and recently posted he’s writing a new book titled “Lake Wobegon Explicit.”

His return to Wobegon onstage already began last year. After a “Prairie Home” performance at New York’s Town Hall last month — with most of the same crew that’s on for the St. Paul show — he raved about the experience via Facebook.

“I do think it was a great show, better than most of the ones heard by millions on radio, this one heard by 1,200 New Yorkers,” Keillor wrote.

“Life is full of little ironies. The beauty of being 81 is that your ambition is washed away, and it’s all about the pleasure of friendship, and that was a great audience. They’re not fans, they’re friends. And now onward to Nashville, Galveston, Austin, and who knows where else.”

Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium is playing host to the next 50th anniversary staging Thursday. St. Paul’s installment falls a week after the show’s actual anniversary date, July 6.