The center of the Venn diagram of people that like the “Golden Girls” and people that like puppets are my people. And my people were treated to the show of a lifetime when That “Golden Girls” Show-A Puppet Parody hit the Straz Center yesterday.
The show’s website calls for “All Girls, Gays and Grannies” and by the looks of it, that’s who filled up Ferguson Hall. (Sadly, I missed the sold-out drag brunch that preceded the 2 p.m. show.)
When the lights went down, the audience showed solidarity immediately singing along to the theme song, Andrew Gold’s “Thank you For Being a Friend.”
Originally on off-broadway, the production was set up in three sitcom style storylines. Like the TV show, they each involved a misunderstanding of some sort while fitting in time to slut-shame Blanche and idiot-shame Rose. They all wrapped up nicely with friendships rekindled at the end, usually over cheesecake. There’s a formula for each episode, and they nailed it.
Sophia set up the show, with puppeteer Ashley Brooke hitting the Sicilian by way of Brooklyn accent on the mark. Meggie Doyle’s Rose was a little less convincing, however, and Betty White’s look didn’t translate well to puppet, especially the hair. There was too much flop in the silver hairdo—a can of Aqua Net was missing to secure the usual hair helmet.
Dorothy entered last, to roars and cheers. She was only one played by a male puppeteer, Luke Dombroski, who seemingly had to lower his voice to fit Bea Arthur’s famously deep delivery. Dorothy was also the only puppet to be an arm puppet, versus a rod puppet. That meant Dorothy was able to do her signature hand-under-chin while listening to the conversations at the kitchen table and bite her fist when something annoyed her.
But Sunday’s performance belonged to Blanche Devereaux, played by Erin Ulman. Her Southern inflections were spot on. Imagine the word “again.” Now imagine it pronounced by Blanche. “A-gaay-in.” The sexual innuendo was layered on top of more sexual innuendo. Her bosom was mighty and her makeup was plentiful. She was absolutely divine.
It was these little nuances that really got why the “Golden Girls” has become such a cult phenom. The poor posture of Sophia. Rose’s St. Olaf stories. If you watched the show, you know. The puppeteers brought it to life.
The wonderfully-’80s set added to the experience with pastels, rattan, and palm leaf patterns filling the stage. There was even the banana-yellow wall phone, which when answered usually added to some of the days problems. (These days, in case you’re confused, they call such a phone a “landline.”)
Old commercial jingles filled time in between the episodes, playing into the nostalgic television experience. Again, the audience played along. Who knew so many people remembered the words to the Juicy Fruit jingle? It was definitely in my subconscious and escaped with pride.
“The taste, the taste, the taste is gonna move ya.”
It was a fun reprieve between each episode. And the most fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon, with my people.
The show was amazing, was well written and performed. But if you’ve seen one “Golden Girls” puppet show you probably, don’t need to go again.
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This article appears in Jan 23-30, 2020.