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Totally Random Video: Bea Arthur opens her one-women show sharing how she makes leg of lamb
I can’t believe this is on YouTube!
One of my favorite theatrical experiences ever was seeing Bea Arthur perform her one woman show at the El Portal in North Hollywood back in 2004. Dixie Carter and Hal Holbrook were sitting near us and a few rows away was Nancy Sinatra.
And onstage in her bare feet with Billy Goldenberg at the piano was Bea Arthur, a decade after The Golden Girls, reminding the world what a great Broadway star she had been. She won the Tony Award for Mame and had originated roles in Fiddler on the Roof and Three Penny Opera.
This one-woman show, Bea Arthur on Broadway–Just Between Friends, was Tony nominated for its 2002 Broadway run but Miss Arthur also had a successful national tour and had a run in Canada.
So, the opening of the show is delicious! Miss Arthur details for us how she prepares a leg of lamb for a small dinner party and for some reason – then and now – I find it so mesmerizing.
BONUS VIDEO: Below are more scenes from the performances combined with an interview Miss Arthur gave after. Enjoy!
Comments
(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)
Jack says:
I saw Bea’s one-woman show in Minneapolis. What a great performance it was!
Peter says:
I saw it on Broadway shortly after 9/11. Very small crowd The leg of lamb story was a lowslight. As a theater loving friend perceptibly put it, she shared almost nothing about her life. After the one-woman tour de force shows of Lena Horne and Elaine Stritch, Bea was a big disappointment.
Greg Hernandez says:
Thanks for sharing that ray of sunshine