After 50 years in the business, Bea Arthur has a few lowbrow, quite dirty stories to tell about some famous and talented people with whom she has worked along. Mixed with her favorite songs, the show is a ‘closet full of memories’, rather than an autobiography.
Bea performed her 25-city tour with her good friend Billy Goldenberg in 2001 and 2002. Together they entertain for 90 nonstop, mesmerizing, minutes. For more on the show’s specifics, click on the show synopsis on the left navigation!
ARCHIVE of TOUR SCHEDULES
| An Evening with Bea Arthur CHICAGO PERFORMANCE RESCHEDULED SHOW March 19, 2006 The Center of Performing Arts Governors State University University Park, IL | Bea Arthur with Billy Goldenberg February 24 & 25, 2006 @ 8pm Part of the 30th Anniversary of Garrison Keillor! Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Scottsdale, AZ |
| Bea Arthur back at the El Portal with Billy Goldenberg at the piano Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 – 8pm Friday, Feb 17, 2006 – 8pm, Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 – 8pm, Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 – 3pm El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, California Taping for upcoming DVD release will take place at these shows! (Still waiting for this release as of 02/15/2023…) | Bea Arthur with Billy Goldenberg January 21, 2006 Historic Elsinore Theatre, Salem, Oregon This is the rescheduled show that was meant to take place on October 8, 2005 |
| An Evening with Bea Arthur Saturday, January 7, 2006, 8:00 PM PST San Francisco War Memorial Performing Arts Center Herbst Theatre 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA | [Cancelled] Bea Arthur with Billy Goldenberg Carefree Theatre, 2000 S. Dixie Hwy., West Palm Beach, FL |
| Bea Arthur Back On Broadway (&95th St.) November 21, 2005 Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Peter Norton Symphony Space Tickets $100/$50; Members $85/$50 VIP:: $500 Meet Bea/After show party, $250 After show party A benefit for the Ali Forney Center | An Evening with Bea Arthur September 24 2005 @ 8 pm Tickets: $20-$35, $100 VIP The Smith Opera House, Geneva, NY |
| An Evening with Bea Arthur September 22 2005 7:30 pm, Tickets $55 Birchmere, Alexandria, VA | An Evening with Bea Arthur September 16 & 17, 2005 8:00 pm – All Seats $60 American Theatre, Hampton, VA |
| An Evening with Bea Arthur August 27 2005 7:30pm Tropicana Las Vegas , Las Vegas, NV | Bea Arthur with Billy Goldenberg June 7, 2005 Garden State Arts Center, New Jersey Free for seniors! |
| Bea Arthur with Billy Goldenberg June 3 & 4, 2005 Tropicana Casino Brighton and Boardwalk Avenues, Atlantic City, NJ 08401 | Bea Arthur with Billy Goldenberg 🙂 April 19, 2005 Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort Mount Pleasant, MI 1 show @ 4pm |
| An Evening with Bea Arthur with Billy Goldenberg April 17, 2005 Scottish Rite Center Fort Wayne | Bea Arthur with Billy Goldenberg March 4-6, 2005 Helen Heyes Theatre Company 123 Main Street, Nyack, NY 10960 |
| Conversations with Coco: Bea Arthur Spotlighting the Career of BEA ARTHUR Hosted by MISS COCO PERU (A.K.A. Mr. Clinton Leupp) Saturday, January 22, 2005, 8:00 p.m.L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Renberg Theatre The Village at Ed Gould Plaza 1125 McCadden Place, Hollywood, California 90038 (One block east of Highland Ave. and PI block north of Santa Monica Blvd.)$20 in advance/$25 at the door (if available). Benefiting the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.The Village Box Office: 323-860-7311 | Bea Arthur to appear at the Ennis’ fund-raiser for Spinning House on Oct. 30, 2004, at 8 p.m. in the Bill Heard Theatre in Columbus, Georgia.Tickets are $28. And if you want to go to the party after the show, it’s $100. |
| An Evening with Bea Arthur August 21, 2004 Provincetown Town Hall | Bea will be doing her show again in the L.A. area, on August 5, 6, 7 and 8 at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood! |
| A Celebration of Life: Whitman-Walker Clinic’s 11th Annual Spring Gala featuring Divas of a Lifetime! Three leading ladies performing on an intimate stage in the round. Join Bea Arthur, Dixie Carter, and Elaine Stritch together on one stage, Wednesday, May 26th at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C. | America’s favorite Golden Girl of comedy is coming to Saugatuck, MI, and you’re invited! Bea Arthur performs her Broadway and London hit show Just Between Friends with Billy Goldenberg at the piano. A benefit for Mason Street Warehouse, an uptown theatre in downtown Saugatuck. TWO PERFORMANCES ONLY Saturday, May 22, 2004 6:30 pm cocktail gala in the theatre lobby, 7:30 pm curtain – $100 OR 6:30 pm cocktail gala in the theatre lobby, 7:30 curtain AND post-show special reception with Bea Arthur – $200Sunday, May 23, 2004, 2:00 pm curtain – $75Tickets go on sale April 10, 2004, and may be purchased by calling the Mason Street Warehouse box office at 269-857-4898 or by calling TicketsPLUS at 1-800-585-373.For questions, contact Mason Street Warehouse at 269-857-4898. |
| Bea in L.A. :: January 31st – February 1st, 2004 South Bay Conservatory Student Scholarship Fund | We were in London…. with Bea! [2003] It’s finally official! Bea is performing her one-woman show for the London folks retitled as Bea Arthur at the Savoy. The dates are as follows::September 15 to October 18, 2003 (previews from September 12)Savoy Theatre Strand, London, WC2R -0ET, England Telephone: 020 7836 8888 Again I urge anyone going to the show to email their pictures and stories to me for posting. Fans want to know how her show is received and are excited to hear from people that are attending! |
| South Africa Shows [2003] Shows at two different locations will be taking place in South Africa, as Bea takes “Just Between Friends” to the following places before performing in London August 12th – 24th :: Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre [Johannesburg & Reef] August 26th – September 7th:: Theatre on the Bay [Cape Town] | Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends in Toronto Canada! When :: November 20th – December 8th, 2002 Where :: Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre 189 Yonge St. Toronto, ON |
| Bea in Australia Info Exclusively from BeatriceArthur.com Provided by another Kevin in Australia: SYDNEY 2002 GAY GAMES CULTURAL FESTIVAL Presented by Andrew Mckinnon and Sydney 2002 Gay Games Direct from a smash hit Broadway season and in Sydney’s magnificent new Parade Theatre, show business icon Bea Arthur makes her long overdue Australian debut! The star of Maude, Mame, and The Golden Girls, Bea recalls the highlights of her remarkable stage and television career with hilarious stories and priceless backstage accounts of Tallulah Bankhead, Angela Lansbury, Lotte Lenya, Tony Curtis, Jerome Robbins, and other show business legends. Venue: Parade Theatre Kensington Date: Tuesday, October 29 – Sunday, November 10, 2002 www.Ticketek.com. Click here for a review from Melbourne [posted 10.22.02] | And Then There’s Bea October 15 – 27, 2002 Melbourne Festival Athenaeum Theatre Melbourne, Australia Amckinnon.com.au |
| Bea Arthur in Sante Fe, New Mexico! Exclusively from BeatriceArthur.com Provided by Santafestages.org Bea Arthur and Billy Goldenberg will be doing one performance on Tuesday, September 24 in Santa Fe, New Mexico to benefit New Mexico Women in the Arts and Santa Fe Stages. The venue will be the Lensic Performing Arts Center. Tickets go on sale Monday, Aug. 19th. They can be ordered from the Santa Fe Stages box office (505) 982-6680 | Congratulations to Bea for being nominated for Best Special Theatrical Event by the Tony® Awards! Tour schedule: [updated:: 04.15.02] |
| Bea Arthur on Broadway :: Just Between Friends Jan 29 – April 14, 2002 New York City, New York Booth Theatre 222 West 45th Street | * For Bea’s final performance in New York City, the name of the show has been changed from ‘And Then There’s Bea’ to ‘Bea Arthur on Broadway :: Just Between Friends’. The contents of the show have progressed and changed some from the beginning of the tour. Therefore, if you had seen her in a past show, it will be well worth seeing her Broadway performance. She will be performing over 60 shows while in NYC, rapping up her successful one-woman tour. |
And Then There’s Bea! – (nationwide tour has finished)
| April 24-29, 2001 | Minneapolis, MN | Guthrie Theatre |
| May 8-13, 2001 | Melbourne, FL | King Center |
| May 20, 2001 | Fort Myers, FL | Barbara B. Mann |
| May 22-31, 2001 🙂 | Chicago, IL | Park West |
| June 2-3, 2001 | Savannah, GA | Lucas Theatre |
| June 12-17, 2001 | Louisville, KY | Brown |
| June 19-24, 2001 | Austin, TX | Paramount Theatre |
| July 3-8, 2001 | Columbus, OH | Capitol Theater |
| July 10-15, 2001 | Cincinnati, OH | Kaplan |
| July 25-29, 2001 | Nyack, NY | Helen Hayes Theatre |
| July 31-August 5, 2001 | Raleigh, NC | Fletcher Opera House |
| August 7-19, 2001 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL | Amaturo Theatre |
| August 21-26, 2001 | San Francisco, CA | Alcazar Theater |
| August 30th, 2001 | Los Angeles, CA | Wadsworth Theatre |
| September 7, 2001 | Owensboro, KY | RiverPark Center |
| September 8-9, 2001 | Indianapolis, IN | Egyptian Ballroom |
| September 21-22, 2001 | St. Louis, MO | Pageant Theater |
| October 2-7, 2001 | Washington, DC | Warner Theatre |
| October 8-14, 2001 | Miami, FL | Coconute Grove |
| October 19-21, 2001 | Winnipeg, Canada | The Walker Theatre |
| October 23-28, 2001 | Tampa, FL | Ferguson Hall |
| November 2, 2001 | Towanda, PA | Performing Arts Center |
| November 4, 2001 | Wilkes-Barre, PA | Kirby Center |
| November 6, 2001 | Easton, PA | State Theatre |
| November 8, 2001 | Lakeland, FL | Polk Theatre |
| November 10-11, 2001 | Galveston, TX | Opera House |
| November 15-18, 2001 | Detroit, MI | Music Hall *cancelled* |
| December 11-23, 2001 | West Palm, FL | Royal Poinciana |
| December 26-29, 2001 | Thousand Oaks, CA | Scherr Forum Theatre |
| January 2-6, 2002 | Phoenix, AZ | Orpheum Theater |
| January 11-13, 2002 | Lynchburg, PA | Academy of Music |
Support The Ali Forney Center where the Bea Arthur Residence resides! This is a dedicated facility for young LGBTQ people
Song list from ‘And Then There’s Bea’ 2001 Show
“Fun to Be Fooled”
Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin, Yip Harburg
“What Can You Get a Nudist for Her Birthday?”
A. Leclerq
“Isn’t He Adorable”
Cy Coleman, James Lipton
“It Amazes Me”
Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh
“Bosom Buddies”
Jerry Herman
“Let’s Face the Music and Dance”
Irving Berlin
“Pirate Jenny”
Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, Marc Blitztein
“It Never Was You”
Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson
“Some People”
Stephen Sondheim, Jule Styne
“The Times, They Are a Changin’”
Bob Dylan
[Removed from show]
“Where Do You Start”
Marilyn and Alan Bergman, Johnny Mandel
“If I Can’t Sell It, I’ll Keep Sittin’ on It”
Recorded by Ruth Brown
“Who Cares”
George and Ira Gershwin
“Fifty Percent”
Marilyn and Alan Bergman, Billy Goldenberg
“You’re Gonna Hear From Me”
André and Dory Previn
“The Chance to Sing”
Tom Jones, Billy Goldenberg
“I’ll See You Again”
Noel Coward
Recently added:
“Man on the Moon” from Mame
**More changes to the playlist have occurred during her run on Broadway. The listed songs above are from Bea’s nationwide tour, ‘And Then There’s Bea’
Bea Arthur on Broadway [The CD]
You lucky people! Bea has released the majority of her show on CD for us to enjoy over and over again!
You can buy the CD from a number of online stores such as Amazon.com
Track listings are as follows::
1. Lamb Recipe
2. Fun To Be Fooled
3. Introduction
4. What Can You Get A Nudist For Her Birthday?
5. Auditions
6. Isn’t He Adorable
7. Fiddler on the Roof
8. Let’s Face The Music And Dance
9. Bosom Buddies
10. Angela Lansbury
11. Threepenny Opera/ Pirate Jenny
12. It Never Was YOu
13. And Then There’s Maude
14. Some People
15. The Soup Ladle
16. Where Do You Start
17. Bernie Schwartz
18. If I Can’t Sell It, I’ll Keep Sittin’ On It!
19. Personal Hygiene
20. Who Cares
21. Fifty Percent
22. The Nun’s Story
23. You’re Gonna Hear From Me
24. The Chance To Sing
25. The Man in the Moon is a Lady
The following is a personal review I wrote of the CD ::
[ 02.18.2002 ]
Tonight is a version of a dream that I keep having come true. I had Bea Arthur over to my house for dinner! Well, not exactly, but close! Matthew came home from work with a copy of Bea’s CD in his hand. I already had the CD player warmed up and dinner in the oven (that’s where I put it after bringing it back from Domino’s Pizza!). So, theoretically, Bea and Billy joined us for an intimate dinner at my house.
So, what did I think of the CD you might be wondering? Simply brilliant! (using the same verbiage that she uses often in her show). It was like seeing the show for the first and fourth time! A flood of memories came back from when seeing her show back in May. I try to think about what people would think about listening to it without having seen her show first. I know they will be just as entertained, but for songs like Pirate Jenny… the lighting on Bea and the stage when she performed the song made it even more powerful than it already is. That’s what I remember the most… it sent shivers up my spine! Then there was her rendition of Some People. It was introduced without warning, then she breaks away with her story of the song and then comes back, continuing the song. I love that part, so perfect, so Bea! They cut some of the material in the show out of the CD (probably due to the 74-minute maximum limit on a CD) but they definitely kept most of the more memorable parts of the show. Her stories, though told by others time and again before, cannot be better executed than Bea with her comedic timing. An added delight for me on Bea’s CD is the last track. The Man in the Moon is a Lady was added to her show after her performances that I saw in Chicago.
Furthermore, what is missed on the CD is when Billy gets up from the piano and leaves the stage at the end. However, the piano continues to play, surprising the audience as they were not expecting a one, last, laugh and impression of the show! Simple, yet brilliant!
One thing I noticed that was cut from the CD was her comments on Vermont’s passing gay marriage laws. I felt it was a very important piece of the show, but perhaps it had more meaning when sitting with her in the same room, rather than on CD. I could go on and on about the CD, but I won’t for sake of your time! I just feel so fortunate that they at least decided to release Bea’s work in audio format. Of course, I would just die if they released her show on DVD. But, nevertheless, I am 110% satisfied with having seen her show three times and having the CD to cement my memories.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to drop everything and go out and buy the CD, you can still get it. It is available at local stores such as Borders (who only ordered one copy per store, bad move), Barnes and Noble, and Virgin MegaStore (which has it on special display). You can also order it online by clicking on the above image.
– Kevin Buckstiegel