Live to laugh: Bonnie’s senior comedy afternoons
With Bonnie Barchichat, expect the unexpected.
You may, for instance, walk into an interview with the 62-year old, vibrant entrepreneur and find yourself, at once, being serenaded with a unique rendition of “Hello, Dolly.”
A native of Flushing, Queens and daughter of a performer, Bonnie is old-school show biz, through and through. She is also a consummate performer in her own right.
“My mom used to play in orchestras and had a tremendous sense of humor,” Bonnie said, sitting in her Redondo Beach home office. “She was always the funniest in the group.”
Mom, Yetta Schachter, is now 95 and has inspired Bonnie’s latest venture: Senior Comedy Afternoons.
Several years back Bonnie and her husband Emile took Yetta to a local comedy club for what was supposed to be an evening of fun.
“Mom was not amused,” Bonnie said. “She couldn’t relate to the comedians’ humor and choice of language…the evening was a flop for mom and a bummer for Emile and me.”
For decades, Bonnie had made a career and a name for herself knowing what people wanted. She got her start on the east coast building companies to provide special interest tours and then moved onto speciality event planning.
“I had a service called ‘Breakfast from Tiffany’s’ where we would deliver champagne, caviar and bagels and lox to your door and provide ballerinas or violinists to entertain you while you ate,” she said. Her company “Rent-an-Event” garnered major press and a celebrity following, landing her at the White House on more than one occasion.
So imagine Bonnie’s frustration when she couldn’t deliver a fun night out to her own mom. Months later, on a long drive to Vandenberg Air Force Base to watch one of her husband’s rocket launches, Bonnie had a bit of an epiphany.
“I realized that I had spent my career in niche marketing and this was another opportunity,” she said. “You can only laugh at what you can relate to and there was no place for seniors to do that.”
Thus the concept of Senior Comedy Afternoons was born. Now in its fourth year, the event is an afternoon-long variety show with clever but clean-mouthed comedians, dancers, musicians and an overall warm nostalgia for years long passed.
“It’s a place where seniors and their boomer kids can have fun together,” Bonnie said. “We give out hats and crowns for the seniors celebrating birthdays. It’s a very warm, fuzzy environment with a lot of laughs.”
In the last four years, Bonnie has put on two dozen Senior Comedy Events –“It’s like putting on 24 weddings in four years,” she said. On October 12, her 25th happens at Torrance DoubleTree’s Penthouse Ballroom. The theme is “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and everyone is encouraged to dress in their finest Roaring 20’s gear.
“We even have our own Fred Astaire to dance,” she said. The comic lineup includes Michael Preminger, who has worked with Dean Martin and Johnny Carson, Emmy-award winning comedic writer Jonathan Solomon and headliner Jimmy Burns, who has toured with Arsenio Hall and George Lopez.
Giving older folks a sense of community is one of Bonnie’s proudest accomplishments. Emile, a technical whiz, created video footage of historical and cultural events from that era to add a sense of time and authenticity to the afternoon.
“It’s really an intergenerational show,” Bonnie said. “I want somebody my age be able to take their mother out for an afternoon and I want them both to enjoy it and feel like they are a part of something.”
Senior Comedy Afternoons’ “Puttin’ on the Ritz” comes to the Torrance DoubleTree on Sunday, October 12. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., lunch is served at noon and the show begins at 1:15 p.m. All-inclusive tickets include the show, lunch, taxes and tips and cost $50 in advance, $60 at the door. For more information, to purchase tickets or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, visit seniorcomedyafternoons.com or call Bonnie at (714) 914-2565.