Getting old is no ride in the park. Well, I guess it can be… as long as somebody else is doing the driving. (Ba dum ching… my apologies to real comedians.)
Old age is the theme of “Aging Disgracefully,” a comedy show from well-known RI-based comics Doreen Collins and Charlie Hall. You can catch the pair live this Saturday, November 23, at the Newport Playhouse & Cabaret Restaurant. (Note: The late word is that the show is sold out; however, a February show has just been announced.)
The show evolved from the popular Ocean State Follies, a comedy show that played around Rhode Island for over 25 years. “Charlie and I are both in our 60s; a few years ago we were at a comedy show, and he was trying out new material. I was in the audience and I realized his best stuff was about getting older,” Collins explained in a phone call last week.
So, the pair began work on a show about growing old. “We developed a show for us and our age group, and what everybody out there will experience, if they are not already. lt’s a show about aging,” said Collins. “The more we got into the funny of it, the better the show got.”
Collins, the first woman inducted into the Rhode Island Comedy Hall of Fame, shared a bit about how the show evolved. “We were booking dinners. You could tell they were amused, but people were not really laughing. I told Charlie, ‘They just had a big meal; I don’t think it’s us; I think it’s two hours past their bedtime, and they’re falling asleep.’”
So now, we do it at a time when we are still awake, and when our audience is still awake,” she laughed. “We moved to matinee shows and boom, we were pop stars, everybody was wide awake.”
The show is a blend of improvisational and regular material, explained Collins. “The way the show runs, we open the show with a song, and then we do a host chat. We talk with each other, and we talk with the audience. It’s not the same show all the time; we play off our audience. We do a couple of character skits, and then we each do our own stand-up. It’s a nice mix of everything. There is music laced throughout – the show is always different.”
I asked Collins about the increasing popularity of live comedy. “Have you seen politics lately,” she joked. “People want to laugh.”
“It all started in 2016 with ‘he who shall not be named,’” continued Collins. “The election changed the playing field. But we don’t do anything political. We were still doing the Follies in 2016, and, at first, people were still laughing at it. Then it took this turn where you knew who was in what camp. And I was like, I’m too old to fight this. We’re here to laugh, not cry.”
“I’m self-deprecating; we don’t do insult humor; we like punching up, not down,” says Collins. “Some comedians are good at it, others like punching down, It’s just cheap shots.”
Expect a special show for the holiday season. “We change it up a little bit for the holidays; we do a holiday show, which means we wear red and green, and that’s about it,” she laughed. “No, we change the song, instead of doing ‘I’m Still Here,’ I do ‘Santa’s Baby.’ Charlie usually does a Christmas poem, so we ‘holiday it up’ a little.”
Collins stays busy year-round and has another big show coming to the Courthouse Center for the Arts in March. “I’ll be doing the Ladies Room in March, which I’ve done every year since I was inducted into the Hall of Fame. It’s an all-female comedy show sponsored by female-owned businesses, with a portion of the ticket price going to a female-based charity. It’s in its 10th year.”
The comedy duo has several dates around the state over the next couple of months, including shows at Lancellotta’s in North Providence, Davenport’s in East Providence, and the Courthouse Center for the Arts in West Kingston. They’ll be back at the Playhouse on February 23 for a special Sunday brunch performance.
Click here for more on Aging Disgracefully.
Click here for the Newport Playhouse.
