GOLDEN GIRLS: THE LAUGHS CONTINUE
Where: McPherson Playhouse, 3 Centennial Square
When: Saturday, Nov. 9, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 10, 1 p.m.
Tickets: $58.25-$91 from the Royal McPherson box office (250-386-6121) or rmts.bc.ca
The Golden Girls was a commercial and critical success during its original run, twice winning the Emmy Award for outstanding comedy series while amassing Top 10 viewership numbers in all but one of its seven seasons.
But no one could have predicted the comedy series about four single women sharing a house in Florida would remain hot property in 2024, more than 30 years after its sign-off. A fan expo (Chicago’s Golden-Con) and celebrity cruise (Fort Lauderdale’s Golden Fans at Sea) are among the fan-friendly annual events which pay tribute to the enduring series and its stars.
“The popularity just isn’t dying down,” said cast member Vince Kelley of Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue, a U.S. stage production which stops for performances in Nanaimo on Wednesday and Victoria on Saturday and Sunday.
“In fact, the show is finding new ways to reinvent itself. It just keeps finding new audiences. People have such a connection to it.”
Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue was created three years ago in Detroit, with Kelley involved at the point of inception. He had his pick of characters, but wasted no time in choosing Blanche Devereaux, a southern belle who was played in the TV series by Rue McClanahan. “I have no ties to the American South whatsoever, but I do see myself sometimes as a tragic southern heroine. I am in my own Tennessee Williams plays at all times.”
Kelley had worked with each actor prior to casting, all of whom were known in the Detroit area. No one involved with the production gave much thought to the production’s long-term success, however. Hundreds of shows over three years of North American touring was not in anyone’s purview at the time, according to Kelley. “I don’t think any of us thought we would be the long-term people. We thought we were doing this for one weekend.”
Ryan Bernier stars as Dorothy Zbornak, who was played in the series by Bea Arthur, while Christopher Kamm plays Sophia Petrillo, the firebrand worn to perfection in the series by Estelle Getty. Adam Graber may have the most difficult role of all, according to Kelley: He plays Rose Nylund, a role made famous by Betty White, whose accent in the show — among other attributes — was a constant push and pull for the actor playing her in Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue.
“Betty White has such a specific accent,” Allen said. “She’s also the most beloved. She has her own following, aside from The Golden Girls. She was Betty White before The Golden Girls, and she was Betty White after The Golden Girls. I think Adam has an unenviable job.”
The script has been updated to reflect modern times, and is set in 2024, but the hallmarks of each character remain intact. Sophia is caught running a drug ring for retirees, Blanche and Rose have created a dating app for seniors, and Dorothy is dating someone much younger (played here by actor Tommy Favorite, who doubles as Stan Zbornak, Dorothy’s cheating ex-husband.)
It’s zany, no doubt, with a content warning that suggests it is suitable only for patrons 18 years and older. But Kelley said there is a distinction to be made between Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue and other productions of a similar style: The cast features four gay men playing characters written for women, not four men in drag. “A drag queen is an artist who adopts a persona, and that’s their character,” Kelley said. “We’re actors reading a script, more like female impersonators, if you will.
“Sometimes it take a bigger foot to fill such an iconic shoe. And you could certainly get four female comedians on stage to do a script, but that’s not the script that we have. That’s not our show. We’re not trying to fool anybody.”
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