Steven Carrington, Jeff Colby, and Adam Carrington didn’t always get along on the original Dynasty series that originally aired on ABC. However, their respective portrayers, Jack Coleman, John James, and Gordon Thomson have remained good pals since Denver Carrington and Colbyco closed up shop. Now, the three are reuniting for a live nightclub show titled Cocktails with the Carringtons — and you can attend.
Dynasty: Cocktails With the Carringtons
“I’ve always been a fan of the Rat Pack and nightclubs,” John James (Jeff Colby) tells Soap Hub, who got the idea to put this show together. “I thought it’d be fun for us to do a show, and I mean a show in the real sense and not just about us talking about our days on Dynasty.”
However, fans who attend Cocktails With the Carringtons (click here for ticket info) will be happy to know that the show, set for Saturday, April 16 in Burbank, and Sunday, April 17, and Monday, April 18 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, does include a Q&A portion.
Singing, Talking, Performing, And More
“We have a few songs,” James previews. “It’s a full nightclub show. People have asked why are we doing this now? I love performing in front of an audience. It’s nice from a nostalgic point of view. Dynasty is an iconic show.”
James not only remained with Dynasty for the entire run of the show and took part in the 1991 mini-series, which wrapped up the storylines for the show’s devoted fan base, but he also helped headline the Dynasty spinoff The Colbys starting in 1986. “I was with [Dynasty] right from the beginning with George Peppard [who was originally cast as Blake],” James notes. “They called me and said, ‘We have to reshoot. We’ve hired John Forsythe [to play Blake]. The rest is history.”
James says Cocktails With the Carringtons will explore the groundbreaking efforts Dynasty made in the 1980s including the introduction of wealthy Dominique Deveraux (Diahann Carroll), Steven Carrington being one of TV’s first gay characters in prime time, and how standards have changed with what actors are allowed to do on TV. “Dynasty had a lot to do with opening up things that shows could do,” James adds.
Moldavia, Colbys, Aliens, Lions, Tigers, and Bears!
Jack Coleman, whom Days of our Lives fans may recall as the show’s infamous Salem Strangler, says the show was given a bit of a tryout in Palm Springs last year. “It went great,” he tells Soap Hub. “We cover a lot of stuff that you’d think we would cover including Moldavia, The Colbys, and aliens! We get into all of that. The fun thing about having three of us is that we all have different recollections and takes on things.”
“JJ [John James] had this wonderful notion and contacted Jack and myself, and we took it from there,” Thomson tells us. “This has been a real pleasure, putting this all together. We have always gotten along so well. My feeling is anyone who makes a living in this business is a charter member of the ‘[expletive] Lucky Club!'”
Dynasty’s Gordon Thomson Recalls His First Scene
Thomson, whom soap viewers last saw as Daryl Tulane on The Young and the Restless, says that fans often remember specifics about storylines more than he might, however, he will always remember his first episode in which viewers were introduced to Michael Torrance, a man raised by his grandmother, played by actress Lurene Tuttle (Life With Father; Perry Mason). On her deathbed, ‘Michael’s’ grandmother gave him information that led to the realization of his true identity.
“She told me to look into a drawer and find the rattle [that Adam had when he was taken],” Thomson shares. “I said, ‘My name is Adam Carrington.’ That’s a moment to this day that stuns me.”
Another favorite memory is the time that Adam put arsenic into the freshly painted walls in Jeff’s office. “That was based on something that actually happened to [author/politician] Clare Boothe Luce during her time as ambassador to Italy,” Thomson, also beloved for his time as Mason Capwell on the now-defunct Santa Barbara, notes.
Cocktails With the Carringtons is set to take place on Saturday, April 16 at the Burbank Convention Center and on Sunday, April 17, and Monday, April 18 at the famous Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. For tickets, click here.
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