Orson Bean captured his packed audience opening night the minute he walked on the set and kept them laughing to the end. He thumbed thru the highlights of his life in an overall comedic fashion even though some of the sketches were tragic events, such as his dog, his mother, and her suicide. The last part of his monologue was of meeting and proposing to his wife, Alley Mills.

The night was a fast 75 minutes of delightful laughter. One left feeling grateful this man had cared enough to share those precious moments. The play is from his memoir of the same name, “Safe at Home.”

Opening night coincided with 30th anniversary of the Pacific Resident Theatre on Venice Blvd, formerly a market and before that a nickelodeon, according to Alley. The Theatre is Alley and Orson’s baby that they brought to fruition. The humble couple graciously thanked former Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who was in the audience, for helping with the permits and making that process so much easier. They credited her with helping keep the arts alive in Venice. Then, Orson said, after we got back to Venice and were celebrating getting the permits, the toilet inspector knocked at the door.

Ruth Galanter told the couple that she no longer could issue a certificate for them so she wrote a poem in their honor. She read the poem. Ruth kindly has allowed the poem, a tribute to Alley and Orson, to be printed in the Update.