GOLDEN GIRLS, THE LAUGHS CONTINUE: “Oh, blow it out your tubenburbles!”

Written by Robert Leleux and directed by Eric Swanson, Murray & Peter present Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue. St. Olaf’s sassiest seniors return for one more hurrah, allowing faithful audiences of the beloved TV series to relive the heartfelt hilarity of four zany ladies who never stop being the best of friends. 

It’s 2023, and Sophia is out on bail after being busted by the DEA for running a drug ring for retirees. Blanche and Rose have founded CreakN, a thriving sex app for seniors. Dorothy gets her groove back with the help of a young, sex-crazed lover. Together, they play off each other to steal the stage in this mad-cap comedy.

Interesting to note, all the actors are males, and may I say they are fabulous! Vince Kelley, who portrays Blanche with every bit of panache as Rue McClanahan, considers himself a Southern Belle at heart. “Getting to bring Blanche to life onstage is a long-time dream of mine that only Murray and Peter, along with their fantastic team, could have made possible,” he says. Kelley has the mannerisms down pat, and had the liveliest presence, likely because Blanche is the most colorful character of the four.

There was great physical comedy throughout the entire show. The actor portraying Dorothy, Ryan Bernier sounds exactly like Bea Arthur and also had a striking resemblance from afar. Adam Graber as Betty White’s Rose had the character’s southern voice down pat, and Christopher Kamm as Estelle Getty’s Sophia has the look down pat. All of them captured their characters’ mannerisms perfectly and had the audience in stitches. 

A good comedian gets a laugh every 13 seconds. These girls averaged half that! (Yes, I timed it.) The amazing momentum continued throughout most of the first hour — until Stan walked in. Not because the actor portraying him wasn’t good, but the male energy broke the circuit between these ladies. Stan felt like an unnecessary addition to this cast, even though Jason Bowen (Stan/Burt) skillfully brought his two characters to life — but because the synergy between the golden girls is so tight it leaves no room for a break in flow. Stan was also, oddly enough, part of Rose’s bizarre LSD trip. Needless to say, this production takes certain liberties. Traditionalists may not appreciate some risqué language. There’s plenty talk of sex (Burt is Dorothy’s love lust) and drugs and, well, maybe not rock and roll but constant reference to popular song lyrics. 

You feel like you are in the apartment with the girls the whole time. The impressive set is an open floor plan with a swinging door separating the Miami-inspired living room from the kitchen. Observant viewers might’ve scanned the decorative tins along the kitchen wall and caught a rather phallic one. Performers often broke character, whether to make sure we picked up on some innuendos or to throw in some PVD/RI humor, which only added to the fun. Unfortunately, they weren’t here for long, as their national tour continues! You can catch them in the New England and tri-state area through April 28. For tour info, visit goldengirlstour.com/tour/2024.