“Laverne & Shirley” fans and film buffs will find recollections, schtick and lots of video clips from a celebrated actress at The Wick through June 27.
Cindy Williams, aka Shirley Feeney, was supposed to be in “Nunsence” at the Boca theater. But when Covid nixed the cast size, Williams had to come up with a one-woman show quickly, so this is a premiere.
Backed by a large screen, “Me, Myself & Shirley” takes the audience through her storied career as a young movie ingenue to meeting her co-star Penny Marshall. And their work in the iconic sitcom from 1976 to just before Williams’ departure in the show’s last season in 1983.
Williams’ show is autobiographical and in order. So the first act is sharing her early movie recollections, working for iconic directors like Francis Ford Coppola. How she blew landing a part in “Star Wars.” To pairing with then young Ron Howard, only known as Opie, who already had much bigger aspirations she didn’t believe would come true. They did.
She meets Marshall at the end of act one and the second act is how the TV series came to be as a “Happy Days” spinoff. She talks about evolving the working-class girls’ concept from the set design to accents. How the writers came up with “bits,” and how their cast regulars fit in.
Be prepared to laugh through their antics and bloopers after intermission. There’s so much physical comedy, a question from the audience at the finale was whether she had ever been injured. Her surprising answer was “no,” but Marshall was. [Marshall died in 2018 at 75.]
Williams was always a lot more than “Laverne & Shirley,” if you Google her IMBD [International Movie Database]. So she has lots of memories to share now at 73.
The Wick plans a patriotic show July 3. An upcoming reprise July 8 through 10 of Clint Holmes and Billy Stritch doing Nate King Cole music. And a Parisian show July 17 and 18. The regular season opens Oct. 7 through Nov. 14 with “Mamma Mia!” https://thewick.org/
“Now we can look forward to happier times,” managing producer and founder Marilynn Wick announced on stage to introduce Williams and The Wick’s eighth season of productions through May 2022. “We are happy to have you here and supporting the theater.”
By Marci Shatzman
