Experience Jason Marsden’s Mars Variety Show

While timeless activities like drive-in movie theaters have seen a resurgence during the COVID-19 pandemic, there probably aren’t too many among us who’ve thought, “Hmm, maybe an at-home variety show would do the trick!” Well, for Nashvillian Jason Marsden — the voice actor behind characters like Max Goof, Hocus Pocus’ Thackery Binx and Haku in the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away — that’s the way he’s chosen to spread a little joy through the quarantining process. Marsden almost functions as Music City’s pandemic Kermit the Frog with his homegrown Mars Variety Show, which cites Jim Henson’s variety program The Muppet Show as part of its inspiration. Marsden hosts each edition from his home and brings together a cavalcade of remote entertainers, ranging from musicians (Belcourt staffer Jessie Breanne among them) and puppeteers to comedians and fire dancers — a good bunch of whom are locals. Through its affable shagginess, Marsden’s show is ultimately a zany love letter to the city’s stuck-at-home arts scene. All episodes are available for free to watch on the Mars Presents YouTube channel, too. CORY WOODROOF