Scranton Seeks ‘Office’ Zealots
Pa. City Hosts Convention for Fans of NBC Sitcom
-- Multichannel News, 10/10/2007 1:12:00 PM
NBC’s The Office successfully transplanted a British comedy, won Emmy and Peabody awards, renewals and has a second life on TBS – but can it lure fans to a convention to a former coal mining town in Northeastern Pennsylvania?
Organizers of “The Office Convention” on Oct. 26-28 certainly hope so.
Some fans of the show already come to town and have photos taken near some of the landmarks from the opening montage of the show, actually shot in Los Angeles in a faux office but fictitiously set at Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. in Scranton.
Convention backers are trying to add to that by having actual cast members in attendance, including Angela Kinsey (Angela), Melora Hardin (Jan), Leslie David Baker (Stanley), Brian Baumgartner (Kevin), Creed Bratton (Creed), Kate Flannery (Meredith), Mindy Kaling (Kelly), Oscar Nunez (Oscar), Phyllis Smith (Phyllis), Andy Buckley (David Wallace from Corporate) and Bobby Ray Shafer (Bob Vance -- Vance Refrigeration).
“Think of it like a Star Trek convention, but with nerds wearing Dwight Schrute glasses instead of Spock ears,” convention organizer Tim Holmes said in a release.
Some events are free and open to the public, while others require limited-admission passes that range from $50 to $250, the organizers said.
Another draw is The Scrantones, who perform the show’s theme song and will be playing their first gig in Scranton. Band members include Bob Thiele (who’s played with Bonnie Raitt and Lou Reed) on guitar and vocals; Davey Faragher (Elvis Costello & The Imposters) on bass; Brian MacLeod (Sheryl Crow) on drums and Roger Manning (Beck) on keyboards.
The Web site is theofficeconvention.com.
