The Golden Girls are back in Florida — although things have definitely changed since we last saw them.
In Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue, Sophia is out on bail, Blanche and Rose are running a sex app for seniors, and Dorothy has found herself a much younger man, who also happens to be Sophia’s prosecuting attorney.
The 18-and-older stage comedy brings Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia into 2026 with an original story that combines the familiar friendship and humor of the beloved sitcom with decidedly more adult material than network television would have permitted.
The touring production comes to the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach for two performances on October 25, 2026.
Vince Kelley, who plays Blanche, spoke with OutClique about bringing the girls into 2026, what happens when the audience gets a little rowdy and why there may be no better place to perform the show than Florida.
For someone hearing about the show for the first time, how would you describe what they’re going to see on stage?
I would describe it as a hilarious love letter to their favorite sitcom. You find the Golden Girls exactly where you left them, except it’s 2026 and they’re dealing with what the world looks like now, but still with the same love for each other and the same antics that they were known for.
How do these four women end up in the situations we see in the show?
Just a natural progression. Sophia is out on bail for selling some medicinal drugs to her friends at Shady Pines, and Blanche and Rose have found themselves as the owners of a new dating app, and I’ll use dating with air quotes for seniors. And on this app, Dorothy meets a younger man who happens to be Sophia’s prosecuting attorney.
So I mean, it’s as if we found the plot in the garbage can of the writer’s room of the original show and just updated it for today.
What makes this more than simply watching four performers impersonate characters we already know and love?
Ours is an original story. We took the ingredients of the cheesecake that you know and love and we just prepared it in a new, fun way. So super fans who have seen every episode, this is almost like a lost episode or a forgotten episode. So it is like you get one more fix of that nostalgia that you crave in a way that you’ve never seen before. And it takes place fully today. So it’s kind of fun to hear the girls talking about what’s happened over the last 30 years that you wouldn’t have gotten a chance to and how they’re dealing with technology and what’s going on today.
The show includes improv and changes depending on where you’re performing. How much does the location become part of the performance?
We really like to lean into the live theater one night only. We don’t want to duplicate the same performance every night. So we take a lot of where we’re at. We love to do research on where we’re going.
The audience doesn’t expect that you’re going to sit down to see a touring Golden Girl show and all of a sudden they’re going to be like, “And here’s what’s happening in your neck of the woods.” And we talk about your local sports team or what’s going on with the politics of the town at the time or something like that. We try to really hone into where we are so that it is this handcrafted just for you experience.
There are obviously some pretty outrageous situations, but The Golden Girls also had a lot of heart and was ultimately about friendship. How do you keep that in this version?
So much that is off stage, honestly. The guys who have been doing the show, it’s kind of been the same group since we started about four years ago. So we really like each other and we like making each other laugh and we like poking fun at each other like the girls did on stage and off. So that is just built into the DNA of the show.
We really do have a beautiful baseline love and respect and friendship for each other, which is why the Golden Girls also worked so much.
You’re bringing the show to Florida, which was, of course, home for the Golden Girls. Does performing for a Florida audience add something to the experience?
The Golden Girls in Florida are hand in hand synonymous. It’s where a lot of the people who live here come. They come from Minnesota and New York and Georgia, and this is where they spend their golden years.
And it’s super fun to get to come and connect with the fans who are in the same position that the girls were in, in their lives and stuff. The relatability is super fun to play with, and we just always have a good time.
What would you say to a longtime Golden Girls fan who’s considering coming to the performance?
We’ve got something for everyone. We’ve got Easter eggs for the super fan and you’re going to see the lobster mold in the kitchen and you’re going to see the explanation mark on the door and you’re going to say, “This show is for me. They made this for me. I’m a super fan.”
We got the lines that you want to hear and the impressions and the clothes and everything. And then if you’re not familiar with Golden Girls and you’ve been dragged by your wife or girlfriend, we also got stuff for you. We got some broad humor that is going to bring you in and be like, “Okay, this was a good night.”
Finally, how would you describe the show in just three words?
Live, laugh, lanai.
