Out of all the bitchy banter, biting one-liners, and shady side eyes in Tom Catt and Toni Homeperm’s hilarious The Dorothy & Sophia Show at New York City’s legendary Stonewall Inn on Thursday, May 30th, one of the funniest moments had to be when the two “Girls” were discussing the hit sitcom Maude:
Dorothy: “I liked Maude”.
Sophia: “Why did you like Maude?”
Dorothy: “Because her mother was only on ONE episode!”
How “meta” can you get?
First off, it must be said that the two performers, the statuesque (Never say “tall”!) Tom Catt as Dorothy and snack-sized Toni Homeperm as Sophia have their characters’ iconic looks down to a science. Lucky passersby who caught the pair in front of Stonewall before the show must have thought that their drugs didn’t kick in yet, or perhaps were working a little TOO well: “OMG, Look! There’s DOROTHY and SOPHIA!” Tom Catt perfectly captures Dorothy’s look, but the performer’s eye-popping impersonation isn’t just about the makeup or the silver wig. Catt also expertly channels Ms. Zbornack’s posture, mannerisms, and… attitude! With every eye roll, disapproving stare, or positioning of the arms, the audience gets re-acquainted with Dorothy’s trademark sarcasm, with perhaps just a splash of priggishness thrown in for good measure. Likewise, Toni Homeperm transforms into a doppelgänger for Dorothy’s mother– from Sophia’s trademark old-lady hairstyle (TRIVIA: Estelle Getty’s Episode 1 Sophia wig was changed for Episode 2.), to the character’s slow, cautious gait, to her belovedly blunt comebacks. Who knew that a flowered ankle-length dress and cardigan sweater could get people so excited? There are also some of Homeperm’s characterizations that even the hardest of hardcore fans may not pick up: In keeping faithful to the character, the audience almost never saw Toni-as-Sophia letting go of her trademark purse… except when she was singing!
Ahhh, yes! There IS singing in this show. Despite the endless fan-driven lists, it’s VERY hard to decide which of the 180 episodes of The Golden Girls are the “best”. Was there even a “bad” episode? That said, it’s pretty well-established that G.G. fans L-O-V-E the musical episodes. On this night at Stonewall, these two Girls did not disappoint. With that inimitable husky voice, Bea Arthur was an established singer. (TRIVIA: She was considered to be the voice of Ursula in 1989’s The Little Mermaid. Wouldn’t THAT have been wet and wild?) Tom Catt perfectly channels Ms. Arthur’s SINGING voice as well. Toni Homeperm, who really CAN sing, tones down her vocal skills and has Sophia stylistically “talk sing” her numbers, one of which was Prince’s worldwide #1 1986 hit Kiss. It’s EXACTLY as campy as it sounds– and it not only made the audience go crazy, but also giving Catt’s Dorothy the chance to stare at her “mom” disapprovingly for a solid four minutes straight. (Now, THAT’S an achievement in “wordless acting” if there ever was one!) Sophia returned for another iconic pop hit, from 1996… which was sadly long after even (Gasp!) The Golden Palace closed its doors. There were other songs too, including the fan faves Miami and the duet I Got You Babe. In another truly “meta” moment, Tom-as-Dorothy also performed Hard Hearted Hannah, as song which Ms. Arthur had previously performed on Maude..
Even in its brief running time, Catt and Homeperm manage to pack a lot of iconic Golden Girls lines (What would a G.G. show be without “CONDOMS! CONDOMS! CONDOMS!”?) and juicy references into the show, which featured sound art by Stonewall’s DJ Chauncey. Be prepared to get reacquainted with the secondary characters Gladys Goldfine, Isaac Newton, Aunt Angela, Mr. Ha Ha, and others. (But strangely, not even a mention of “Frieda Claxton”…). The event also featured Golden Girls-themed trivia, some of which was “too easy’ for any level of G.G. fan (“The Girls are all obsessed with one dessert. What is it?”), and some which were a bit more challenging (“What was Dorothy’s childhood nickname?“). Personally, I think this audience could have used a tad MORE challenging… We even learned a few new pieces of trivia, including what Bee Gees song was inspired by Sophia! (Hint: It wasn’t More Than a Woman...) And yes, there WAS an encore… but I won’t give it away except to say that it became an all-out sing-along. Thank you for… ahem, the encore, Girls!
As mentioned earlier, the two performers really “got” the total vibe of their characters: the look, the personality, the aura, etc. The banter between real-life bosom buddies Tom Catt and Toni Homeperm made The Dorothy & Sophia Show rise above “just another” Golden Girls tribute show. With 180 G.G. episodes to choose from, let’s hope that this mother and daughter team have another family reunion. But a piece of advice: NEVER mention the Golden Palace in front of Dorothy!
LAVENDER AFTER DARK (because life begins when the sun goes down...) 