MONROE, Mich. – “Say Goodnight Gracie,” a hit Broadway play that invites audience members to spend a hilarious, heart-warming evening in the uplifting company of late comedian George Burns, is coming to Monroe County Community College’s La-Z-Boy Center on March 4.
With vintage photographs and video clips from film and television performances, actor Alan Safier brings to life Burns’s fascinating story of more than 90 years of American entertainment history. In “Say Goodnight Gracie,” Burns is once again alive and kicking – and singing and dancing – in a stunning solo performance.
In “Say Goodnight Gracie,” audience members will discover Burns in limbo between this world and the next, unable to join his beloved wife and partner Gracie Allen until he gives the command performance of his lifetime for God. He looks back upon his impoverished, plucky youth on the lower East Side of New York, his disastrous but tenacious career in Vaudeville, and the momentous day when he meet a fabulously talented, young Irish girl named Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen.
He recalls their instant chemistry, their marriage and their joint rise to the pinnacles of Vaudeville, movies, radio and television. Allen’s death forced Burns to start from square one in his life and career, eventually achieving an equal level of success as a solo performer and Academy Award-winning actor.
“Say Goodnight Gracie” features the skillful vocal talents of actress Didi Conn, who played “Frenchie” in the movie “Grease,” as well as evocative music and moving images from Burns’s long life.
The play was created with the approval and cooperation of the estate of Burns and Allen. “Say Goodnight Gracie” was authored by multiple-Tony Award-winning playwright Rupert Holmes and is Broadway’s third longest running solo-performance show. It won the 2003-04 National Broadway Theatre Award for best play.
“Say Goodnight Gracie” begins at 7:30 p.m. on March 4 in the La-Z-Boy Center, which is located on MCCC’s Main Campus at 1555 S. Raisinville Rd. in Monroe.
Tickets are $20 for reserved seating and $30 for VIP seating, which includes balcony seating, cash bar and munchies. They can be purchased on the Web at www.monroeccc.edu/theater, in person at the Cashier’s Office in the Warrick Student Services/AdministrationBuilding or via phone by calling the MCCC Ticket Hotline at (734) 384-4272.
Group rates, rooms and catering are available in conjunction with the concert. For more information, contact Tom Ryder at (7344) 384-4201 or tryder@monroeccc.edu.
The 2016-17 MCCC Season of Events sponsors are DTE Energy, Michigan Gas Utilities, Monroe Bank & Trust, La-Z-Boy Incorporated, the DTE Energy Foundation and Consumers Energy.
About Monroe County Community College
Founded in 1964, Monroe County Community College is a public, two-year institution supported by tax monies from Monroe County, educational funds from the State of Michigan and student tuition.
The college’s mission is to enrich and transform lives by providing opportunities and excellence in higher education. The Main Campus is located at 1555 South Raisinville Road, Monroe, Mich., 48161, with easy access to Toledo and Detroit. The Whitman Center is located at 7777 Lewis Ave.,Temperance, Mich., 48182, near the Ohio-Michigan Border. Detailed information about MCCC is available at www.monroeccc.edu.