The Sunshine Boys Review

Last Friday night I got to see something I never thought I would: Dick Van Dyke performing live on stage. As my faithful readers know, he is my favorite actor of all time. My friend Aaron and I had second row tickets to see the play, The Sunshine Boys, which starred him and his brother Jerry.

Our view of the stage before the play started (I had to sneak it on my phone- no photos were allowed). The backdrop before the play was a picture of the brothers and their mother. So yeah, when they came on stage, they were about 15-20 feet from me!

The Sunshine Boys is their version of the Neil Simon play by the same name. I think we laughed the whole time- those two were fantastic together! Two of the funniest moments included when Dick Van Dyke's character approached an ottoman, looked out at the audience, gave a funny look, and walked around it. For those who don't know, Dick Van Dyke tripped over an ottoman in the opening sequence of his TV show back in the 1960s.

Another funny moment was when his character started talking in a British accent and Jerry's character kept telling him it was awful. Jerry said, "You sound like Bert from Mary Poppins!" Again, for those unaware, he was in Mary Poppins and has been criticized for his British accent in it. I personally didn't think it was all that bad, but then again, I'm not from England. I guess it's how I feel when people in movies "over exaggerate" a Texas accent. We don't all sound like hicks! ;)

Sadly there was no meet and greet, but the Van Dyke brothers had signed a bunch of photos to be handed out to those of us in the "VIP" section. Even though I would have loved to have met them, just seeing them live in person, on stage together (and in seats that close) was a dream come true. It was a night I'll never forget!!

My autographed picture