Women just love to laugh! And they love to laugh most with each other about common trials and tribulations. “The Hen Party” at USCB Center for the Arts on Thursday, Jan. 30 will keep you laughing with an evening of hilarious introspection that ponders the question, “Do these feathers make my butt look big?”

Karen Mills, one of the original “Southern Fried Chicks,” teams up with Mia Jackson and Sheri Taylor to find the funny in the everyday life of women, wives, mothers, daughters and friends.  Low-rise jeans, teenage children, memory loss and new-fangled technology are just a few of the topics these funny ladies will explore, all delivered with liberal doses of good-natured humor, love and laughter.

Opening the Hen Party show will be Beaufort’s own “The Beaufortettes — Tap Dancing Divas” shaking their tail feathers. These “ladies of a certain age” can keep up with spring chickens half their age, with great legs to match. They are first place winners of a number of dance competitions and hold the title of National Adult Dance Champions.  Their director, Aleisia Ashlaw of Beaufort Academy of Dance, keeps them in shape with two “tapercize” dance classes every week which, according to Dance Captain Janet Gregory, keeps them young in mind, body and spirit.

“She keeps us on our toes and our kicks high,” said Gregory.  “Years ago none of us thought we would be up on a stage in tights at our ages, but now we love the fact that we are Medicare’s version of the Rockettes!”

The 11-member dance team ranges in age from 65 to 80 and have several bionic parts among them.  All but three are retired from careers that include a microbiologist, a biochemist, two college professors, a computer programmer, a commercial scuba diver, a school teacher and a buyer for Ralph Lauren. Two others are dedicated travelers and the last is a local businesswoman who must juggle her demanding professional schedule with classes and performances.

The Beaufortettes have been dancing together since 2006, and this September they really will be “living their dream” when they perform aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship to the Bahamas.

<b>Hen Party chicks keep the laughter coming</b>

Standup comedian Karen Mills has been playing in theaters and clubs across the country for more than 20 years.  She had a rough patch while battling cancer last year but never lost her sense of humor. In fact, her illness has provided her with some new material to inspire people to see the love and laughter in their common challenges.  The national touring comedian appears regularly on Sirius XM Laugh USA and recorded a one-hour special for Blue Collar Radio.

Mia Jackson has appeared on Oxygen Network’s “Girls Behaving Badly” and TLC’s “Wild Weddings.”  She was a finalist in the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta and taped a spot for “NickMoms’ Night Out.”

Sheri Taylor comes from a background in theater, radio, voice work and improv, and worked with comedians James Gregory and Jimmy Walker.  Currently she is on the morning radio show “Love in the Morning.”

So gather up your girlfriends for a great evening of laughs suitable for the whole family on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for adults are $22; seniors, $20; students are $15, and can be purchased online at www.uscbcenterforthearts.com or by calling the box office at 843-521-4145. All seats are assigned.
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