Barry Humphries (center) as Dame Edna in “Dame Edna’s Glorious Goodbye – The Farewell Tour” (photo: Matt Jelonek via The Broadway Blog.)
“Dame Edna’s Glrious Goodbye – The Farewell Tour” opened last week at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles where it plays through March 15. The title role of Dame Edna Everage is played by Barry Humphries with an ensemble that includes Ralph Coppola, Brooke Pascoe, Eve Prideaux and Armando Yearwood, Jr.
Humphries’ career has spanned 50 years of bravura showmanship, and this historic finale pays homage to a character that has become near and dear to fans around the world. Surrounded by spectacular sets and gorgeous dancers, Dame Edna keeps her audience enthralled and “in stitches” with her sparking wit, mischievous wisdom and razor-sharp banter. With her take-no-prisoners comedy and hijinks, Dame Edna is not going out with a whimper and no one is safe from her wicked tongue.
The tour opened in Australia before moving to London, where Neil Norman of the Daily Express said, “I almost asphyxiated myself with laughter,” while Mark Shenton of the Sunday Express said Dame Edna is “…a comic, cosmic wonder… I only pray that this show is not really the last we will be seeing of Humphries, but if it is, he is going out on an unmissable high.”
San Francisco, March 17-22
Palm Desert, March 30 – April 4
Toronto, April 9-19
Washington DC, April 21-26