FOAnatic sees "BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg" (long)
FOAnatic sees "BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg" (long)
FOAnatic sees "BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg" (long)#0
Posted: 6/7/05 at 8:29pm
Ok...so I saw it last Friday...but I've been sick and haven't had the time to write a full review. But...here goes...
I found out that Bea was going to be performing her show in Atlantic City about a month ago, so I immdiately bought rear balcony seats because, as a poor college student, that's all I could afford. I gave the other ticket to my friend for her birthday and we we both ecstatic when the day arrived. Atlantic City is only an hour and a half drive from my house but, with the inclement weather and all the traffic headed to the shore, it took a little over two hours...but we arrived at the Tropicana.
When we got to the theatre we were seated in the second to last row. Well, that wouldn't do. So, about 5 minutes before the show started, my friend and I spotted some empty seats up front and we snuck up to the fourth row. Our view was spectacular. The pre-show recorded announcement by Dame Edna was a surprise and a treat to the ears. When Bea walked out on stage I think my heart skipped a beat. I have been a fan of the Golden Girls ever since I was little (before I became familiar with her stage work). I was in the presence of a legend...and merely feet away from her.
The first thing my friend and I noticed was that she was barefoot. She went on to tell us a story of when she was performing her show and, at the end, instead of exiting into the wings, she exited...into the pit. Even after her foot healed she decided it was more comfortable doing her show barefoot and apologized that: "The military tap number has been cut."
The show was amazing. She started out giving a speech on how she likes to throw dinner parties and even explained her favorite lamb and eggplant recipie with excruciating and hysterical detail. The chemistry between her and Billy Goldenberg was so warm and comforting. They work so well off of each other and are such a sweet pair. Bea has such an amazing presence and truly owns the stage. She sang a wonderfully hysterical number called "What Do You Get a Nudist For Her Birthday?" She also told some great stories of when she was in dramatic school. I was in tears when she re-enacted her first professional New York audition and sang the first lyric to "Summertime" and couldn't remember the rest. The story of her audition to replace Mae West in DIAMOND LIL and her introduction to Ms. West was side splitting. She spoke about her experience in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and sang a moving rendition of "Pirate Jenny" from THREEPENNY OPERA as a tribute to Lotte Lenya. Her performance of that song was so amazing it has inspired me to definitely see the Roundabout revival in 2006. She sang "Some People" from GYPSY and spoke about it being her life's dream to play Mama Rose. Her story of her experience in MAME with Angela Lansbury was what drove me over the edge. When she spoke about how bad of a foul mouth Lansbury has, I nearly wet myself. There were also some great stories of her experiences with Norman Jewison and doing MAUDE and THE GOLDEN GIRLS.
All in all, the night was magical. Personally, there is no better way to end a show than to say: "Thank you very much for coming and, no, I will not be singing 'I'm Still Here.'"
After the show, my friend and I headed to P.F. Chang's for dinner. It's located in this beautiful new section of the Tropicana called "The Quarter." There's also a Carmine's there for anyone who is familiar with the restaurant on 44th street.
While we are waiting to be seated I look behind me and gasp. Billy Goldenberg is right behind us. For a minute I couldn't even speak and my friend turned around and started talking to him. She's a wonderful piano player and started to speak to him about his playing and congratulated him on a job well done (by that time I had remembered to speak and congratulated him as well). We talked to him for a few minutes and we asked him to congratulate Ms. Arthur when he saw her. He responded with: "Well, why don't you tell her yourself?" And, at that moment, he led us right into the restaurant and straight to his dinner table where, Ms. Bea Arthur was sitting and waiting for him. She was chatting with some hotel managers and such when we were brought over. I could barely breathe. There she was...Bea Arthur...right in front of me. Billy introduced my friend and I to her. She was incredibly nice. She wished my friend a happy birthday and she signed my season one dvd of THE GOLDEN GIRLS (which I brought with me on the off chance that something like this would happen). I could barely speak but I was able to eek out a few words of congratulations and adulation to her. We didn't want to interrupt their dinner, especially since they had just done a show. So, we thanked Bea and especially Billy for bringing us to meet her and we left.
It was such an amazing night. There are very few chances when one gets to meet a person that they have looked up to and admired for many years. I was really in the presence of a great actress and it was amazing to see how gracious she was to us. This was an experience I will not soon forget.
Joined: 12/31/69
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#1
Posted: 6/7/05 at 8:41pmWOW. That sounds like an amazing night. And you got to meet her, you lucky b*tch!
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/1/04
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#2
Posted: 6/7/05 at 8:43pm
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#3
Posted: 6/7/05 at 8:51pmThank you so much. I really had an amazing night.
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#4
Posted: 6/7/05 at 8:58pm
Wow! What a night! To top it off, you have the chance to not only see her in passing at the stage door, but have a conversation with her! You are one lucky person!
The show sounds hysterical and your review was very well written. Thanks!
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#5
Posted: 6/7/05 at 9:04pm
Sounds AMAZING.
Wish I could have seen it.
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#6
Posted: 6/7/05 at 9:18pmI'm not sure what her next stop is. I'll try and look it up.
Leading Actor Joined: 1/1/05
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#7
Posted: 6/7/05 at 9:21pmYour story made me smile, for reasons having nothing specifically to do with Bea Arthur or Billy Goldenberg (other than their graciousness). What a wonderful, amazing experience you had - congrats!
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#8
Posted: 6/7/05 at 9:24pm
For those of you in upstate NY, on July 23rd Bea and Billy will be performing their show at The Egg in Albany.
For more tour information, check out the website below.
http://www.beatricearthur.com/attb-tourinfo.php
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#9
Posted: 6/7/05 at 9:31pmYou lucky S.O.B. You just had one of those rare experiences that happens to very few people.
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#10
Posted: 6/7/05 at 9:46pmOh, believe me. I know. I still can't beliebe it happened.
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#11
Posted: 6/7/05 at 9:54pmCongrats, FOA! She is one of a kind.
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#12
Posted: 6/7/05 at 10:18pmShe definitely is!
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/28/04
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#13
Posted: 6/7/05 at 10:31pm
Sounds like an incrediable show and I know it must have been a joy to meet Ms.Arthur in person. She is truly a legend and I'm so happy for you 
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#14
Posted: 6/8/05 at 8:57amWhere will she be coming up?
re: FOAnatic sees 'BEA ARTHUR with Billy Goldenberg' (long)#15
Posted: 6/8/05 at 11:32amJust check the link I posted farther up in the thread.
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