Tattle Tales

A ONE-MAN SHOW THAT EVERYONE ENJOYS, Including yours truly and his better half: That, of course, would be Frank Gorshin, as the legendary George Burns in "Say Goodnight, Gracies," newly arrived at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre. Fittingly, it’s the Hayes, because this sparkling stage odeon is named after the reigning femme stage star of the 30s, an era that included such other luminaries as Al Jolson, Fred Allen, the Marx Brothers, Lunt and Fontanne and, of course the straight man and husband to the inimitable, unique comedienne Gracie Allen. If your memory is long and you were alive and kicking in those halcyon days, (I was only a tot myself) you’ll remember Burns and Allen was a famous comedy duo, which a visit to the Helen Hayes will confirm.

A visit will also confirm that Frank Gorshin, the one and only protagonist, is in the words of New York Post critic Clive Barnes, "unquestionably a very clever impersonator... whose material, presumably borrowed from Burns and Allen’s act, is amusing, though lacking the authority it would have had when first delivered."

Authored by Rupert Holmes (the Mystery Of Edwin Drood") the play’s lone star, Gorshin, was last seen on Broadway in "Jimmy" in the role of Mayor Jimmy Walker, but he’ll always be remembered as the original Riddler in Television is "Batman." The recipient of two Emmy nominations for his work on TV, Gorshin also won the Best Actor Carbonelle Award for his impersonation of Burns in "Say Goodnight, Gracie" during its tryout run in August 2000. Gorshin lives up to those awards in his present impersonation, but the best part of the evening comes with the showing of video clips of the real George and Gracie, particularly several that show them on "The Jack Benny Show." There are also some never before seen film clips of George and Gracie, culled from George’s personal archives.

Add these to the classical footage from the team’s films and television shows, and "Say Goodnight, Gracie" becomes an authentic nostalgia trip down Memory Lane to those dear, dead days of the ’30s.