Crowd & Contestants at PAC Given a Glimpse of Popular Reality Show
By: Jeff Walker, Entertainment Writer
Friday night (April 8th) several hundred decidedly female low country fans of Bachelor Nation filled the North Charleston Performing Arts Center as the popular ABC reality show brought their Bachelor Live On-Stage version to the Holy City. With former Bachelor and Bachelorette personality Becca Kufrin acting as host, and former Bachelorette Rodney Matthews spending the evening as a potential love connection, 10 ladies got a small taste of televised franchise.
Locals wanting to compete apparently made their way to the PAC one hour prior to the show to pre-qualify, with Kufrin announcing the 10 random participants at the beginning of the evening. Other than hair & makeup, and wardrobe changes, the ladies chosen were afforded the royal treatment on stage, taking part in interactive games and Q&A.
With a video background re-creating some of the more recognizable TV scenes, the ladies were presented on stage exiting from a limousine. Each got to make a first impression which allowed for epic cheers and laughter from the audience. It’s clear each lady had support in the crowd.
The first real highlight on the evening was the Newly Met Game, a classic takeoff to the Newlywed Game. Ladies were asked to choose one of four responses to questions Rodney had previously answered to see if they matched and awarded roses for each correct response. All along the two hour show Rodney trimmed down the number offering a rose to those who could move on in the strictly for fun competition.
According to Becca, two of her favorite parts of the show are Lip Service where the ladies strut their stuff in front of Rodney lip-syncing to random pop songs. The segment was nicely set up with Becca and Rodney singing and dancing to ‘You’re the One That I Want’ from ‘Grease’, with Becca in full Sandy movie attire.
Many attendees including myself found the ‘Naughty or Nice’ portion of the show rather humorous, where the lovely ladies had to offer up stories where they’d either been very very bad or did something good. With six ladies remaining at that point, naughty tales won out by a four to two margin.
Another crowd pleaser was Movie Night where the final four had to re-create scenes from popular romantic movies. The classic diner scene from ‘When Harry Met Sally’ was by far the overall crowd favorite, with ‘Titanic’ a close second. Good times and raucous laughter over-flowed from the stage.
Much like the TV show one lucky lady comes out on top, and in this scenario it’s all for a good time. Although Morgan’s personal story made her the overall audience pick, when the final rose was handed out Danielle an 11 year Marine Corps veteran was the chosen one and awarded a nice swag bag full of jewelry, gift cards, and a bottle or Bourdon from Becca’s new line of wines.
Not surprising Danielle received the first impression rose with her initial comment to Rodney “that’s a nice suit your wearing, is it boyfriend material?”. Another who was a local gardener said she’d like their love connection to bloom. With the show’s segments set in stone, spontaneity from the participants was definitely the entertainment for the evening. As Rodney said early on, it’s all the Home Town!
For fans of the two decade run of The Bachelor, the live show is a nice way to give back and bring the experience to their town. When the ideal local contestants take part in the live stage performance it makes for a rather light-hearted and enjoyable evening.
It’s clear many of the ladies that came out were hoping to be picked, as several were dressed in shimmery gowns hoping to grab the spotlight. All in all a good time was had by all. The few I overheard leaving the show said they totally enjoyed the experience.
