Cindy Fee, 'Thank You for Being a Friend' Vocalist, to Debut One-Woman Show in Chicago

The singer whose voice has welcomed TV viewers to "travel down the road and back again" since 1985 is taking a rare step out of the recording booth and onto center stage. Cindy Fee's first ever one-woman show, "Thank You for Being My Friends," debuts May 24 with a run of four special preview performances at the Venus Cabaret inside the Mercury Theater.

Tickets available: https://www.mercurytheaterchicago.com/always-golden

Fee's performance of "Thank You for Being a Friend" opened all 177 original episodes of "The Golden Girls," the sitcom about four female retirees cohabitating in Miami. Fee's personal connection to the show, which still pulls millions of monthly streaming and syndicated broadcast viewers, is strong.

"After Betty White passed away, a fan of the show remarked to me that I'm the last Golden Girl. That song has been like a friend to me all these years. So I'm proud to be a part of something so beloved by so many people in so many places. And I'm proud to be a Golden Girl," Fee says.

The new show gives Fee the chance to share her take on songs she loves from her personal life and career. Her selections include showtunes, pop and soul standards, and a handful of original tunes the singer wrote and recorded throughout her career. Friendship, as the title suggests, is a central theme of the show.

"Singing and music are my languages to share. I sing to show love. And friendship is one of those things that makes life worthwhile. Living without friends is like eating without seasoning to me," she explains.

Fee says her show, "Thank You for Being My Friends," thrusts more of the singer's own stories about life, work, and friendship into the limelight.

"Thank You for Being My Friends" is a next step for Fee, who says she felt directionless following the 2020 lockdown periods.

"My children are grown. My husband and I moved to Michigan to live at our home in an idyllic lake community. And I thought sometimes, 'is this it? Am I retired now?" My voice hasn't retired. I was born a singer. It's who I am. Singing is my purest form of expression and connection. And that part of me hasn't retired. So I started thinking about what's next. This show is my first step in figuring that out," she explains.

Fee, who has won two Clio awards for commercial jingles she recorded, began developing "Thank You for Being My Friends" back in April 2023. Her co-producer, Zack Hudson, is enthralled with the idea of audiences getting to hear more and more from fee than "The Golden Girls" theme.

"The same depth of interpretation that Cindy has that allows her to make folks tear up when she's singing a vacuum commercial is the same kind of rich, deep connection she makes when she's singing on stage. I'm totally biased. People need to hear this woman sing. Once they do, they can feel that connection the way I've been lucky enough to," Hudson gushes.

For her new show, Cindy promises that audiences will not only hear her ubiquitous take on the opening theme for "The Golden Girls," but they'll also hear a little about how the actual recording session where Fee laid down TV and pop culture history.

"That song, "Thank You for Being a Friend" has been a friend to me almost since the very first time I heard it. I'm proud of my work and proud of the legacy of the song and "The Golden Girls." I've got some surprises in store for the audiences who know and love "Thank You For Being A Friend." And I want to show them that I love that song as much as they do.

Fee will be joined on stage by Jo Ann Daugherty, an accomplished pianist with a Chicago home base. Fee, who claims Raytown, a Kansas City, Missouri suburb as her hometown, is thrilled by her musical and cultural connections with Daugherty.

"Jo Ann came up as a musician in and around Kansas City too. We share a musical language that only folks who learn to play and perform in that region really understand. That's not to mention that Jo Ann is a world class pianist. From our very first meeting, we've understood each other musically on a deep level," Fee says.

To post a comment, you must register and login.