Girls Night The Musical

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun at Paradise Live Seminole Hard Rock


“Are there any guys in the audience?” asked Sharon the angel. “Suckers!”
I was one of 11 of those “suckers” at a Saturday night performance of “Girls Night: The Musical,” playing through May 22 at Paradise Live at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood.
“Girls Night” is undeniably a show for females, but it is not without interest or entertainment value for men. In fact I rather liked it- but I’m a guy who really appreciates the opposite sex.
Written by Louise Roche, the show originated in the UK in 2003 and made its Off-Broadway debut in 2007.
“Girl’s Night” is presented by Entertainment Events, the same folks who mount the “Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding’ and “Defending the Caveman” shows. As such it is more than a musical revue but less than a book musical. The show relies a lot on audience participation, and the chief cheerleader for that is Sharon, played by Nikki Allred, a Miami actress.
Sharon is a girl who died after falling off the back of a mo-ped at age 17, leaving behind an infant daughter, Candy Rose.
In life Sharon was a bit of a rebel. The daughter she bore was born out of wedlock. She refused to tell her friends who the father was, but we will learn in the rocky course of the evening.
Sharon is an angel, complete with a pair of tiny wings. Her best friends meet regularly to remember her, and this occasion is particularly special because Candy Rose, now 22, is getting married.
Sharon’s friends are stereotypes of common personalities. Liza (Sonya Carter, from the original New York cast) is outgoing and secure in her sexuality. Sonya Carter also has the best belt-style voice in the cast.
Kate (Marianne Haaland) is repressed and insecure about her marriage. Carol (Lauren Zapko), the twice-divorced older sister of Kate, is just the opposite: brassy, sexy and used to using her womanly wiles to dominate.
Anita (Lauren Kairalla) is a baby machine, with four kids and another on the way.
Throw these chicks together, give them a few drinks, and stand back. “Girls Night” features a few original interludes, but mostly it’s girl-power standards such as “I Am What I Am” (actually written for a drag queen), “It’s Raining Men” (which has become a gay theme song), “I Will Survive” and of course “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” which actually was written by a guy, Robert Hazard, for Cyndi Lauper.
Of course Kate would sing Janis Ian’s self-pitying “At Seventeen,” and all the girls take turns with torch songs like ‘Cry Me a River” and “Don’t Cry Out Loud.”
In the sorority party spirit there is some raunchy humor. I didn’t realize there are blow up male dolls too, but one is used to advantage for ribald humor in this show. If you are broad-minded and you just want to have some fun, this is your show.
Tickets are $45 and $55. Call 800-745-3000.