Proof that not all bad boys go gray

WASILLA — Imagine this: you’re back in your favorite childhood place with your best friends and a chance to take a short break from life to remember the good old days.

Got that in mind? Good.

“Bad Boys Gone Gray” is a dynamic musical about five aging, but lively, guys who meet up at the cabin of their youth to party, reminisce and settle old scores with best friends. Oh, and to fix up the place.

“Bad Boys Gone Gray” is the male counterpart to prior Valley Performing Arts originals “Hot Aging Women” and “Hot Aging Women II: Never Desperate at Any Age.” If you were ever a fan of “The Golden Girls,” you have to see this play.

Loosely narrated by the jazzy, post-mortem hooks of respected matriarch Mama B, played by an ironically childless 747 pilot, Cathy Garrick, the story takes us on a fun trip through every walk of life, from the financially prosperous to the significantly less wildly successful.

Early on, it’s easy to want to pick a favorite jokester, appreciating the faults and qualities in each of them, but therein lies the excellence of the play — they each learn something about themselves and each other.

Early in the play, Dave Nufer’s endearing “Stink” isn’t so bad, and you’ve got to wonder about the secrets behind the leather- and tattoo-clad “Double O,” played by longtime musician F. Roger Boshears.

The ever-charismatic Garry Forrester, a veteran of the VPA stage, brings the comedy full circle with his signature dose of offbeat charm.

ConFusion, made up of four individuals who perform with the Palmer High School Jazz Combo band, gives the show a rocking edge, but keeps a Seinfeld-intermission cool. With the exception of an LSD-inspired dream sequence (in which the sound and light techs make their dazzling mark), the band is perhaps the most spirited character of the show.

With enough innuendo to make it believable for adults and plenty of laughs to go around, “Bad Boys Gone Gray” is quite appropriate for all ages. If anything, the young kids won’t get the jokes anyway, but will certainly be entertained by the rock ’n’ roll and practical jokes.

“Bad Boys Gone Gray” is a classy season-closer for VPA, and they’re expecting sold-out shows for the entire run, so get there and see it so you’re not the only one at the cabin at the lake without the memories to share.

For more information, call 373-0195 or reserve your seat online at valleyperformingarts.org.

Sean Talbot is a student at Mat-Su Community College and the University of Alaska Anchorage.