Burns & Allen brought to life, with affection

Say Goodnight Gracie

at the Society Hill Playhouse is an affectionate and corny biodrama by Rupert Holmes about the careers of George Burns and Gracie Allen. Joel Rooks transforms himself into Burns - cigar, round glasses, gunmetal-gray toupee and all - to perform this charming, sentimental show-business story.

Burns and Allen were not only a comedy team (he played straight man to her goofy, illogical humor) but also a married couple; they were beloved stars, first in vaudeville, then on radio, then in movies, then on television - theirs was the longest-running sitcom in history. Say Goodnight Gracie uses snippets of vintage recordings and film clips, and these are its most entertaining moments.

The show begins in 1996 with smoke and a starry sky: George Burns, having died at the age of 100 (he tells us he wishes he had made it to 104 so he could have lived in three centuries), finds out he has to audition for heaven, which seems to be the ultimate gig, like playing the Palace. God will review his life, and then it's up or it's Buffalo.

So the old George Burns takes us, with the aid of projected archival photographs, from the Lower East Side (one of 12 children), through a neighborhood filled with kids in love with show business - kids who will turn out to be the Marx Brothers, Jimmy Durante, and Fanny Brice. Once he grows up and meets Gracie Allen - then a beautiful Irish girl of 17 whose funny voice and impeccable comic delivery created the great comedy duo - love and marriage and children follow.

We hear stories about Jack Benny, his best friend, who when he was dying asked that Burns take over his role in what was to be the 1975 hit movie The Sunshine Boys - which gave Burns a new and hugely successful career through his 90s, Gracie Allen having died a decade before.

Say Goodnight Gracie is a century's worth of show-business history, and a testimonial to times gone by. The title is the signature sign-off: George would say, "Say goodnight, Gracie." And Gracie would respond in her sweet and quirky voice, "Goodnight."