Review: GRUMPY OLD MEN at Broadway Palm

Going to see Broadway Palm's latest production, Grumpy Old Men, did this baby boomer's heart good. This show demonstrates that senior citizens can still fall in love and are still-gasp!-interested in sex. The seasoned performers belt out the songs and deliver the somewhat bawdy lines and gestures with impressive vigor.

From the opening number, the audience is invited into the stereotypical small town of Wabasha where everyone knows everyone's business, long-married wives have a tendency to finish their husband's sentences, and life revolves around the bait shop.

The two grumpy old men live side by side and have been trading insults for decades. Nobody is entirely sure why, but they surmise it must be because of a woman. Well, history is about to repeat itself when a curvaceous redhead moves in across the street. They and the rest of the folks pull out their unlimited supply of binoculars to check her out. Soon the insults graduate from "Moron" and "Putz" to increasingly creative epithets worthy of Shakespeare.

The supporting actors are delightful. Bob Marcus as Grandpa reminded me of the late Irene Ryan in Pippin proclaiming "Life is All About Livin'" to urge his reluctant son, John portrayed by Luther Chakurian, to make his move already.

Chakurian, fellow grump Rob Summers as Max, and the third member of the love triangle Miranda Jane as Ariel all have strong voices and the acting chops to draw us in.

Another supporting standout is Maureen O'Hara as the gleeful IRS agent who hounds John for back taxes. And Tricia Corcoran as Punky draws laughs with her non-sequiturs and occasional lapses into yodeling.

By the end of the evening, all's well that ends well, to borrow from Shakespeare again. Somehow, the fathers, their respective kids, grandpa, and every heretofore unattached person on stage gets a happily ever after. You couldn't ask for a better resolution.

Grumpy Old Men runs until February 8. Call 239.278.4422 for tickets.

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