“Golden Girls:The Laughs Continue”

**** “Thank You For Being A Friend”! That is the theme song that told us we were about to see “The Golden Girls”, a sharply written sit-com from the 1980’s about 4 mature women living together in Miami and the joys and angst of their “golden years”. It was always funny and in particular Dorothy’s mother Sophia ( the original was brought to life by the amazing Estelle Getty) , and in the parody, now on stage of  The Broadway Playhouse, as part of this season’s Broadway In Chicago series, handled by Christopher Kamm ( it appears that he studies every move made by Getty and has mastered the role). Yes, this show is a parody and is in “drag” with all four of these characters being played by men!

Chicago audiences are used to seeing copies and parodies of this classic TV show through the work of Hell In A Handbag Productions , so Chicago audiences are used to  seeing these characters brought to life.This show, with a script by Robert Leieux and directed by Eric Swanson, is  also original. Yes, it has some lines from previous episodes, but they are all fitting and in some cases are there to keep the audience centered on the show. I attended a very full matinee performance with probably 90% females over 60 and they were all in heaven as the “Golden Girls” communicated with the audience whenever it fit. There were a few moments of cast “break-up” but this audience loved every second of it!

The cast was delightful. Ryan Bernier is a delightful Dorothy, Vince Kelley ( who I interviewed for my radio show) is a great southern belle/Blanche, and ditzy Rose is played to perfection by Adam Graber. Graber seemed to have Betty White down to a “t”. While the four “ladies” were pretty close to watching the actual re-runs ( now on just about every night, somewhere), the other cast member Jason Bowen gave us his all. He plays Stan ( Dorothy’s ex-husband) who always stops by and in this show, a new character comes in as Dorothy’s love interest, Burt. Bowen builds two distinct characters for these men and he also does a surprise cameo in the second scene of the first act. I will not spoil the surprise for you but it is a special “Rose Moment” and you will love it!

The Broadway Playhouse is by far the perfect venue for this show as there are no bad seats. The set will remind you of the show (Sean  Sullivan) and the costumes by Vince Kelley, hair and wig design by Dan Gagnon with lighting and sound by Valerie French complete the production. The show is in two acts and runs  under 2 hours with one 20 minute intermission ( to sell drinks and “stuff”)!Big question- does Sophia ever let go of her purse?

Tuesdays:7:00pm

Wednesdays:1:00pm & 7:00pm

Thursdays:7:00pm

Fridays:7:30pm

Saturdays:2:00pm & 7:30pm

Sundays:1:00pm

Show Type: Comedy

For tickets visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue”.

FYI: If you cannot get to the theater by the end of the month, you are in luck. It will return  on May 14th and tickets are already on sale. Be a friend!

If you park in Water Tower, make sure to see box office for validation ticket- big savings!