JULY 20 • 2023 | 49
THEATER
R
yan Bernier, who
recently received
his master’s degree
in acting from Wayne State
University, is portraying
Dorothy in an all-male par-
ody of the TV show The
Golden Girls.
This will be the second
time Bernier, a current
Detroiter, has taken a strong
female role. The actor, who
has been cast in parts reach-
ing from Antony in Julius
Caesar to Star Cat in Psycho
Beach Party, portrayed the
mother (Edna Turnblad) in
Hairspray, which has the part
typically played by a man.
The parody production
is Golden Girls: The Laughs
Continue, meant for those
18 and older. It has been
staged in a number of cities,
including Grand Rapids and
Milwaukee, and can be seen
July 27-30 at the Royal Oak
Music Theatre.
Directed by Eric Swanson,
the intended comedy also fea-
tures Vince Kelley as Blanche,
Adam Graber as Rose,
Christopher Kamm as Sophia
and Jason Bowen as Stanley/
Troy.
“It’s sort of an outlandish
storyline for audiences that
are super familiar with The
Golden Girls on TV and audi-
ences that aren’t as familiar to
come and enjoy a really solid
night of laughs,” said Bernier,
who was raised in Florida and
earned his bachelor’s degree
in theater performance at the
University of South Florida.
“The audience gets the
chance to be in a live stu-
dio audience for a really
unhinged episode of The
Golden Girls. In our show,
Sophia has gotten into some
legal trouble, and Dorothy is
running out of money to help
her deal with that.”
Bernier describes his choice
for the part as being made
after called to audition for the
show and then in rehearsal
two weeks later. He defines
the experience as a “whirl-
wind of a showbiz moment.”
Bernier, 29 and single, said
he tries to do any show that
he can.
“After graduating from
college, I was working at
various theaters with dif-
ferent companies,” Bernier
said. “Professional theater is
something I’ve been doing for
a while. I’ve been appearing
in shows like Judgement at
Nuremburg and Inherit the
Wind. I also do musicals like
Rent and Into the Woods. I
do a lot of Shakespeare and
played Hamlet in Hamlet.”
When Bernier is not
employed in theater, he earns
his living by delivering fur-
niture for a company that
showcases homes up for sale.
“I always wanted to be an
actor,” Bernier recalled. “I
must have been 5 or 6 when I
was put into my first theater
camp. I started working pro-
fessionally at the age of 8 and
worked for a few companies.
One of them was the Orlando
Opera Company [since dis-
continued].”
One of Bernier’s jobs soon
after earning his bachelor’s
degree was working with
Golden
Girls
Parody
An all-male cast
An all-male cast
featured in Royal
featured in Royal
Oak production.
Oak production.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The cast of Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue
PHOTOS BY MURRAY AND PETER PRESENT