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Humorous stories about becoming a senior and growing up Jewish in addition to numerous songs that parody the joys and foils of aging will be featured in the 90-minute musical comedy “Funny Old Broads” starring comediennes Caryn Bark, Pam Peterson and Jan Slavin to be performed next Wednesday, November 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Boca Black Box Center for the Arts in Boca Raton.
Among the highlights of the show will be Bark recalling the joys and absurdities of being a senior and being a Jewish mother and wife for many decades through her many observations about her life.
For example, Bark recalled onstage “I saved money in a luxurious hotel suite by booking myself, my husband Fred and our two children in a room with two double beds while enroute to an out-of-town Bar Mitzvah celebration. My best friend who is also going to the Bar Mitzvah celebration with her husband said “I will do what you do to save money. I’ll ask the Rosenbergs if they want to share the room.”
Alongside Bark’s funny anecdotes will be Peterson and Slavin performing 15 songs that parody their lives as seniors. The songs chosen are well-known hit songs in which Peterson and Slavin change the lyrics.
For example, in the song “Yesterday”, Peterson and Slavin sing “Yesterday, I ate too much at the Chinese buffet. I should have eaten a fish fillet. My stomach has been in pain since yesterday.”
In the song “Downtown”, Peterson and Slavin sing “Downsize” with lyrics about the agony of moving into a smaller house and in “Memory”, Slavin and Peterson discuss looking for keys and other items because of the loss of memory.
“In all the parody songs, the common denominator to the humor is how our bodies, circumstances and lifestyles change as we get older and the audience can strongly identify with us in our performances,” said Peterson.
Bark, Peterson and Slavin teamed to create “Funny Old Broads” in 2013 after meeting each other in their hometown Chicago.
“Jan and Pam were performing their songs as a duo called ‘Boomer Babes’ and I was working alone doing standup comedy and we envisioned that as a team we will have more bookings and the strategy worked. What really mattered is we had loyal followings in Chicago with audiences that are the same age as we are,” said Bark.
The trio not only work in Chicago but have toured extensively also in Florida. Bark now resides with her husband Fred in Naples during the winter months while Peterson and Slavin reside in Chicago.
Each of the three performers had a unique journey into performing on stage.
Bark has been performing standup comedy mainly in Chicago since her college years. After taking improv classes at Chicago’s famed Second City, Bark has been performing standup about growing up Jewish and found a niche market performing in Chicago comedy clubs as well as in local synagogues and for major Jewish philanthropies.
What is ironic about Bark’s long tenure of three decades plus as a professional standup comedienne is that her career flourished without the benefit of being booked on a late-night network television show or having starred on a television situation comedy series.
“I had to hustle, really hustle to make a good living doing comedy without the benefit of being on national television. I knew how to market myself and network with all the people I know in Chicago who would like my humorous stories,” said Bark.
Peterson has been a professional actress and singer for more than three decades. She began her career initially by performing in television commercials and later doing cabaret shows before embarking on writing funny lyrics to parody popular songs on stage. She also had a side career as a fitness trainer.
“I’m proud of all that I have accomplished so far, but I enjoyed most of all performing and writing the parody songs that audiences identified with. As I have aged, there were more aspects of life that seemed funny, so I decided to perform more parody songs on stage,” said Peterson.
In 2004, Peterson had a chance meeting with Jan Slavin at a Passover Seder and had instant chemistry in sharing a love of performing parody songs.
“We clicked right away and made plans from that Seder on to work on performing together as ‘Boomer Babes’,” said Slavin.
“Having a wonderful partner like Jan made the parody songs even funnier. Our facial reactions, costumes and body language reactions to the songs make the audiences want to break out in laughter,” said Peterson.
Unlike Bark and Peterson, Slavin did not perform on stage until she was 60. She is a music therapist and worked in sales prior to performing comedy.
“It may have been a little late in life, but I definitely found my calling in comedy. I enjoyed doing comedy mostly in the Chicago comedy club circuit but really shined when I teamed with Pam as ‘Boomer Babes’,” said Slavin.
Comedienne Caryn Bark teams with “Boomer Babes” comic singers Pam Peterson and Jan Slavin in the 90 minute “Funny Old Broads” show featuring funny anecdotes by Bark and parody songs by “Boomer Babes’ Peterson and Slavin on Wednesday, November 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Boca Black Box Center for the Arts, 8221 Glades Rd. in Boca Raton. Tickets range from $44-$54. For more information and tickets, call 561-483-9036.
