By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed October 15, 2012
Not since John Edward has a medium taken the country by storm the way Theresa Caputo has since her TLC show "Long Island Medium" debuted a year ago.
Her reality program is a blend of day-to-day life with her family, spontaneous readings to strangers on the street and more formal connections with the dead for clients who request them. She's loud and gregarious, with gravity-defying hair, a heavy Long Island accent and fabulous shoes, a Yankee version of TV host Nancy Grace.
Caputo has started doing theater shows and is already so popular, she has booked the Fox Theatre for October 24 to do live readings.
She’s already netted a Priceline commercial and a skit making fun of her on “Saturday Night Live.”
We talked to her by phone last week:
AJC: What did you think of the ‘SNL’ sketch about you?
Caputo: I thought it was hilarious. They did it perfectly. My only thing: they didn’t get my hair high enough!
AJC: You seem to get people to cry at the drop of a hat. Do you always keep Kleenex with you just in case?
Caputo: I don’t mean to make people cry. It’s their loved ones! They’re making them cry. I think I should take stock in tissue paper!
AJC: I read that you first started speaking to spirits at age four. Did you realize you were special?
Caputo: I thought it was normal. Then my friends started telling me it wasn’t normal, that only crazy people heard voices. So I started blocking them out. I suffered a lot of anxiety. Only later in life did I realize I was communicating with spirits.
AJC: How old were you?
Caputo: I was 28. I went through a process of “Who am I? Why was I chosen?” My higher power told me this was my journey in the physical world. This was my purpose. I put all my fears in God’s hands. It was just amazing. For 12 years, I’ve been building my business through word of mouth. I didn’t have a web site. Even before the show started on TLC, I was booked for two years and had a waiting list.
AJC: What’s your stage show like?
Caputo: I take what I do seriously but in a lighthearted way. All I guarantee is my great hair, nails and shoes. The rest is up to the spirits. The show is usually two hours. I know my limits.
AJC: What do you say to skeptics?
Caputo: I totally respect skeptics. I get it. They don’t have to believe in what I do. I just want a skeptic to experience it before they start judging me.
In concert
Theresa Caputo: Long Island Medium
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