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