BROADWAY FOR KIDS

Unlike their previous menopausal efforts, the creators (who will remain nameless here in an effort to avoid litigation), have (this time) created a show that is a delight, a tuneful excursion to life in The Villages, sometimes (incorrectly) called the “Chlamydia Capital of America.”  Sure, there are laughs a-plenty and tons of recognizable Boomer Easter Eggs, with songs those of us with eclectic tastes may just recognize (yes, there is both Lin-Manuel and G&S).  But there are also whimsical observations about retirement life, about obsessions with golf, and about the joys and the sorrows of empty nests and the kids who visit too rarely and stay too long.

 

Opening with a rousing “Welcome to the Villages” (think Something Rotten’s “Welcome to the Renaissance”), we are introduced to three couples – Donny and Melly have been married for over forty years, surviving many of Donny’s affairs and Melly’s obsessions with all things red and Slavic.  Marjie and Ayo are two women who had to wait for their respective husbands to pass before acknowledging their mutual attraction and fondness of knitting and scrapbooking and scissoring.  Happiest of all are Ben and Jerry, who “came out” before AIDS, have been together longer than any of the couples, and who couldn’t give a French-fart about what society and the world think of them.  A recurring source of humor in the piece is their fondness for PDA’s and the other couples’ snarky responses.

 

We are introduced to the complex “loofah” codes – apparently, you hang a loofah on your golf cart to indicate your sexual preferences.  It is to the main couples’ credit that none are interested in any outside-the-relationship hookups.  As Ayo tells us in “Welcome to my STD” (Alice Cooper’s “Welcome to my Nightmare”), her ex-husband tended to infect her more often than not, and she is DONE with that fear. Marjie responds with “Seethin’” (Ariana Grande’s “Breathin’”), assuring us that she shares Ayo’s disdain for unnecessarily anonymous intimacy.

 

 Of course, just to give a sense of what really goes on behind closed doors, we are given a glimpse of a wild and crazy bare-butt party as part of the dance break during “The Color of My Loofah”  (think Barnum’s “The Color of my World”), hence my participation with the Out-of-Box cast.

 

Other songs that strike very familiar chords to those of us over sixty are “Depends Depends Depends” (think “Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps” from the Great American Songbook) extolling the virtues of “just letting go” when the bladder aches for release with no amenity within striking distance,  There’s also “TIA” (“LBJ” from Hair) about ALL the various short-term memory fails and other acronyms affecting aging brains and lifestyles (TIA, TGA, EOL, TBI, QOL, STI, UTI, and STD for example).” Other well-aimed parodies include “It’s Quiet Upstairs” (Hamilton’s “It’s Quiet Uptown”) about the loss of a spouse in a house with no Stairmaster, “Oh False One,” (G&S’s Pirates of Penzance in which Melly categorizes all of Donny’s betrayals – ironically to everyone except him, “Boomers Have it” (Adele’s “Rumor has it”) extolling the virtues of growing up in the 50’s and ‘60’s (“My Prodigy Password Included My Draft Lottery Number”), a reminder of southern springtime woes ("Footsteps in the Pollen" to the tune of "Lipstick on Your Collar"), the ultimate links hymn "Golfing in the Park with George," and, most memorably, "The Internet is for (what were we talking about?)” (Avenue Q’s “The Internet is for Porn”) highlighting the wide range of computer skills inherent in folks ”of a certain age”. For example, Ben spent a career as a programming pioneer and is able to harness AI to roll over and beg for mercy.  On the other hand, Ayo – who speaks fluent Japanese --  can barely navigate her desk-top’s translation programs.  One of the funniest moments comes when they all talk about flip-phones, cell-phones, radio phones, but Donny pulls out a soup can with kite string.  Okay, you have to be “of a certain age” to get that reference.

 

Still and all, it comes to a beautiful conclusion as the entire cast (including the now-dressed orgiasts) giving us a rousing “Hey There Good Times” (Cy Coleman’s I Love My Wife) to celebrate all the joyous and adventuresome years to come.  They may be fewer in number than those that have come before, but they will no doubt be fuller and more memorable (except for those niggling TIA episodes).

 

To be honest, folks over sixty have been getting short shrift in American theatre and especially in musicals.  For every Gin Game or Driving Miss Daisy or On Golden Pond, there are years of ONLY shows about young folks “coming of age,” finding (or losing) love, or agonizing about work and family and aimlessness and showing an existential malaise that, frankly, those of a more mature bearing, find dull and self-indulgent. It has been OVER FIFTY YEARS since Kander and Ebb’s 70 Girls 70, the only musical I can think of about the elderly.   I can only wish an elder artist soon finds the wherewithal to look at seniors and their lives with affection, with respect, and, if done right, with a bit of envy.

 

If all goes right, Welcome to the Villages will be presented by Out of Box Theatre (Venue TBA) before Midsummer, after which it will travel back to the Villages, then to Louisville, Fargo, Portland, Boca Raton, Topeka, Seattle, Juneau, Honolulu, and, hopefully, Greenwich Village.

 

The Out of Box production will be produced and designed and directed by Topher Payne, with the cast filled with Out of Box regulars – Carolyn Choe and Bob Smith (recalled from Spain, hopefully) as Melly and Donny, Zip Rampy and Jerry Jobe as Ben and Jerry, and Mary Clare Klooster as Marjie.  Ayo has yet to be cast, as Mr. Payne insists on them being played by an Asian female-identifying actor over fifty.  Auditions will be announced shortly.

 

In addition, the party scene will be filled by actors who have graced Out of Box’s stages before and may again – there will be folks younger than I (I trust), but this will be my first time baring it all on stage. On a more exciting note, my wife may join me as “Younger Woman,” now that both her parents are no longer alive to cower in shame.  Others signed include Rial Ellsworth, Lauren Coleman, Emily Kalat, Annie Cook, and long-time lighting consultant Jonathan Lyles, who steadfastly has always refused to go before an audience unless he can do it naked.

 

Welcome to the Villages promises to be a funny, moving, and memorable night at the theatre for more mature audiences.  You will be recognized!  You will be honored!  You will be entertained!

 

    --  Brad Rudy  (BKRudy@aol.com     #OutOfBoxTheatre     #WelcomeToTheVillages   #AprilFool)