Skip to main content

For the Ultimate Girls Group, Even as Puppets: “That Golden Girls Show”



There are maybe a handful of shows that hold up to the test of time. Not because of the technology or other surface behaviors but because of the content, actors, writers, direction, etc. For me my two favorites are the Golden Girls and Law and Order (the original). I can watch either any time, any day, over and over again. I can have them on in the background just for noise or I can sit and watch intently like I have no idea what will happen next. The theme songs are the lullabies that help me drift off to sleep, the doink doink sound included.

The Golden Girls seem to just get more popular as the years go on. Perhaps it has something to do with Betty White being a main stay in pop culture as she turns a thousand years old or whatever number she is up to now. That just makes me miss the other girls that much more. While the show was only on for seven seasons those shows have provided countless moments of tears, tenderness, and laughter. Oh the laughter. They are officially the queens of squad goals.

“We were all so lonely, and then by a miracle we found each other.”

As I drift off to sleep some nights they remind me of my college years when friends and I would stay up talking endlessly for hours, then of course I would fall asleep to Golden Girls way back then too. Thank God for repeats.

“To me it was a miracle. Because we’re happy. It’s not fair, you know: I mean, we get married, we have kids, the kids leave, and our husbands die. Is that some kind of a test? You don’t work that hard—you don’t go through everything we go through—to be left alone.”

Other nights I find myself envious of living in a house filled with friends to hang out with, eat cheesecake with, and entertain each other. This occurs mostly when I am up for the millionth night in a row suffering from a migraine pain or migraine related symptom. It is then that having some one to wake and hang out with nearby seems ideal.


It will come as no surprise then that this huge Golden Girls fan is not writing about them for the first time here. My favorites include my blog about Eileen’s Cheesecake (http://bit.ly/2gQ3G7g) and one titled “A Few of My Favorite Things” (http://bit.ly/2hAPYne). I even drew inspiration from that show when it came time to name my Savannah blog “For Hard Hearted Hannah the Vamp of Savannah GA”.


As a mover and a shaker in this town I receive countless emails soliciting me to just about any restaurant or show within the Tri-State area. Most end up going directly into my trash pile. It takes something extraordinary to stand out. But then I saw an ad for a Golden Girls play with puppets!! I signed myself up immediately.


Toted as a show for all “Girls, Gays, and Grannies” I knew I would be in good company. “That Golden Girls Show” as it is named, has all of the things we loved about that series including Stan. The characters often recite lines, albeit in a different order, but that are taken directly from the show. I could have been in this play with no dress rehearsal whatsoever but I don’t think I am that good with puppets. For anyone who has seen “Avenue Q” you know what I mean. For those who haven’t get on that A.S.A.P.

“Dorothy, you’re the smart one, and Blanche, you’re the sexy one, and Sophia, you’re the old one, and I’m the nice one.”

Our girls were the same lovable creatures we remember and seeing them as puppets wasn’t really any different. I have to say that walking in and seeing the identical living and kitchen set made me giddy. They did such a good job! After that I knew it would be smooth sailing. Between me reciting the lines to myself and still laughing at the same jokes this show held my attention every minute. It was ninety minutes without an intermission, which is how all shows should run. While all of the actors/characters were great by far the best was the man behind the woman, Dorothy Zbornak. I saw an understudy that day but by God was he good. He had her down pat. It was like looking or listening in a mirror. The character of Dorothy Zbornak could be my doppelganger just by the way we speak and think. I am not a substitute teacher nor was I knocked up at sixteen just to be clear. But there are days I do feel like I should put my mother in a home.


Seriously the only thing missing was the cheesecake. They really should have passed some out or at least sold some. That’s a million dollar idea right there.

Broadway and theater itself plays such a huge role in my life that it’s no wonder it has a six-degree of separation link to the Golden Girls as well. Back in 2002 a production of “The Women” was playing and I got tickets to see it as a birthday present. There was an all-star cast including Cynthia Nixon who I would re-meet in 2012 when I saw her in “Wit” (http://bit.ly/2h5J3S9). Needless to say she is an all-star actress.

But the real leading lady, for me anyway was Ms. Blanche Devereaux herself, Rue McClanahan. I got to see her coming out of the stage door and though I didn’t manage to score an autograph or photo that day just seeing her was good enough for me. Sadly she passed in 2010.

The only regret I have now is that I never got to meet Detective Lenny Briscoe a.k.a. Jerry Orbach in person before he passed in 2004. In tribute to him I plan to name my future French bulldog after him. If I get a second I suppose she will have to be named Dorothy Zbornak.

It is true what they say:

“If they ever threw a party they would see the biggest gift would be from me with a card attached saying thank you for being a friend.”

For More Information:












Comments

Popular posts from this blog

For Find Out Friday - Why Do Emery Boards Make My Skin Crawl?

You know that sound a fingernail makes when it scratches against a chalkboard?  You know that feeling the sound of that action gives you? I, like most people, hate that sound.  I instantly feel like scrunching my shoulders up to my neck and closing my eyes.  I feel the exact same way when I am using an emery board to file my nails. This annoying sensation has a name: “grima” which is Spanish for disgust or uneasiness. This term basically describes any feeling of being displeased, annoyed, or dissatisfied someone or something.  It is a feeling that psychologists are starting to pay more attention to as it relates to our other emotions.  Emery boards are traditionally made with cardboard that has small grains of sand adhered to them. It is the sandpaper that I believe makes me filled with grima.  According to studies that are being done around the world, it is not just the feeling that we associate with certain things like nails on a chalkboard or by using emery boards

For Find Out Friday - How Do You Milk An Almond?

Despite my affinity for cheese and other dairy products, occasionally (actually a few times a week) I like to go dairy-free.  During those times I rely heavily on my favorite brand of almond milk, as seen in the picture above.  Though I know there is no dairy in this product, I constantly wonder: “how does one milk an almond”? Logically I am aware that no actually “milking” is taking place.  I also know that almond milk can be made at home, although I have zero interest in attempting to make it despite my love of spending time in my kitchen. So, what is the actual process?  How long does it take?  When / where / who was the first to successful develop this product? When talking about this kind of “milk” what we are really talking about is plant juices that resemble and can be used in the same ways as dairy milk. Plant like juice has been described as milk since about 1200 A.D. The first mentions can be found in a Baghdadi cookbook in the thirteenth

For a Doughnut Worthy of Food Network Glory: “Dun-Well Doughnuts”

All because I wanted a Boston creme doughnut. That is how this blog truly began. It was Father’s Day weekend and although I was initially thinking of myself, I knew my father wouldn’t mind having a sweet treat for dessert. Brooklyn is synonymous with great pizza, bread, and of course bagels. But it also has many great bakeries producing some of the most delicious doughnuts you have ever tasted. Just to name a few, there is: Doughnut Plant , Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop and Dough .   On the day of my craving, I did what any of us do countless times a day - I opened Google. When I Googled “best Boston creme doughnuts in Brooklyn” Dun-Well Doughnuts appeared high on that list. Intrigued I researched it further and learned that it had won the Canadian  Food Network’s contest called “Donut Showdown” in 2013. That was enough information for me to decide to visit the very next day.  Dun-Well Doughnuts was opened by Dan Dunbar and Christopher Hollowell in December 2011. Despite