During her one-woman show, "Just Between Friends," Bea Arthur confides to the audience that, after years of starring in TV sitcoms, all she really wants to do for her return to the stage is sing, tell a few stories, and have a few laughs. That's exactly what she does. We get no peek into her personal life (apart from a song about a divorce with no specifics mentioned in the intro). There are no deep insights into showbiz or life in general from the perspective of a 50-year career. It's 90 minutes of light entertainment. If you expect anything more, you'll be sorely disappointed. It's more of a cabaret turn than a solo autobiographical musical. But taken on its own terms, it succeeds.
The towering actress sets the tone right away. Her first bit isn't a song, joke, or anecdote; it's a recipe for lamb. Thanks to her consummate timing, it gets big laughs. No one is expecting Martha Stewart-like advice from the acerbic star of "Maude," "The Golden Girls," and "Mame." Her reactions to the crowd's astonished giggles draw even bigger guffaws.
From there, Arthur alternates chatty reminiscences with favorite songs, which she delivers with energy and raspy style. We get a heartfelt "Fifty Per Cent" from "Ballroom" (which was composed by her able accompanist Billy Goldenberg); a scalding "Pirate Jenny"; and a driving "Some People."
The patter between numbers consists of bawdy jokes and slightly naughty kiss-and-tell quips about fellow actors. For instance, Arthur's elegant "Mame" co-star, Angela Lansbury, has a fondness for limericks. The only figure from her past to be thoroughly trashed is the late Jerome Robbins, who directed her in the original "Fiddler on the Roof." "He was a genius, but a miserable human being," she nonchalantly states. Unfortunately, she leaves it at that. If only she had gone a little deeper (not only for the Robbins story, but throughout the show), "Just Between Friends" would be more than just a pleasant diversion.
