THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 28, 1996 TAG: 9608280038
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: 71 lines
THELMA BAILEY and her 10-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, stood and gave the singers a big standing ovation.
The Baileys were among hundreds of people who attended a concert outdoors in Virginia Beach earlier this week - a slick, well-produced performance by attractive, talented entertainers.
Were the Baileys at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater? No, my friends, they were at another place in the city by the sea where it's been one outdoor concert after another this summer.
And where the seats are much cheaper.
Thelma, mother of four, and a 28-year-old Navy wife, was attending ``The Mark & Kathy Show'' under acres of stretched white canvas on the grounds of the Christian Broadcasting Network.
That's Mark Lowry and Kathy Troccoli, who are seen Saturday night on INSP, the Inspirational Television Network. On this night at CBN, the Baileys were there to see them in person, as were Eddie and Nancy Linger, Cheryl Corbin, Jessica Byrd and 3,500 others.
This concert began with bowed heads and a word of prayer from Mac Heald, who had been warming up the audience before Mark and Kathy strolled onto the stage under the enormous tent. You won't hear any out-loud praying at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater, I'll wager.
The warming up took no time at all, for it was an evening heavy with humidity.
It's a testament to the popularity of Lowry and Troccoli that so many people shuffled into the great white tent to see them perform. INSP is carried by cable systems in Chesapeake, Suffolk and on the Peninsula, but not by the company that has more than 200,000 subscribers in Norfolk and Virginia Beach - Cox Communications.
So, how could they have such a large following in Virginia Beach?
``We have their videos,'' said Corbin of Virginia Beach, in anticipation of being asked how she knew about ``The Mark & Kathy Show'' if it didn't come to her on cable. The singers apparently have a great reach in CDs, videos and on the radio.
Young mothers Corbin and Bailey say they appreciate television that uplifts the heart and raises the spirit of their children. They wish that Cox would hurry up and add INSP. Their thinking is that if Cox can accommodate MTV on basic cable, Cox can find room for INSP.
Does Bailey allow her children, who are 12, 10, 5 and 3, to watch MTV?
``No way!''
MTV? The devil's work.
After watching Lowry and Troccoli - I never heard of them until this week - it's easy to understand why so many people like them. To be sure, they spread The Word. Troccoli sings about putting on our Sunday best all week long.
The singers strive to reach the saved and the back sliders alike by doing fun stuff, like the ``I Got You Babe'' take-off on Sonny and Cher that opened their show here. And it was hoot to hear Lowry launch into a medley of television theme songs.
You ever heard a tent full of people singing the ``Gilligan'' theme?
Fun. Fun. Fun.
CBN has had the tent - bought at a discount from the catalog price of $80,000 - up and in use all summer, with about a dozen concerts and tapings on the schedule. INSP, in league with CBN, taped five ``Mark & Kathy'' hours here, and five shows in the ``Cheyenne Country'' series hosted by Steve Gatlin.
B.J. Thomas and John Schneider of ``Dukes of Hazard'' came to town for that one. John Roos, vice president of marketing for INSP, said the partnership with CBN this week worked out just fine.
INSP is seen in 10 million cable households, and is carried on about 800 cable systems - but not the system serving Virginia Beach. Well aware of that, Roos put a brochure on every seat under the big top urging concert goers to call their cable system, and say, ``I want my INSP.''
The Baileys will take Mark and Kathy over Beavis and Butt-head any day. by CNB