The Golden Girls Xmas Drag Show Is All Sorts Of Holiday Magic

unnamedThe holiday season is all about traditions that bring us closer together, and while there are plenty of intimate celebrations we share with our relatives or close friends, it’s rare to find an event that leaves you feeling connected to total strangers. That’s what makes San Francisco’s ninth annual Xmas all-drag Golden Girls show so extra special.

Four formidable queens bring to life two full episodes of The Golden Girls on stage, proving definitively that Dorothy, Sophia, Rose and Blanche were made to be played in drag (as if there was any doubt).

This year, the girls chose “From Here To The Pharmacy” in which Blanche has no memory of her former lover who’s returned home from the Persian Gulf and “Journey To The Center Of Attention” which pits Dorothy against Blanche as the most popular patron of Blanche’s favorite bar, The Rusty Anchor. Meanwhile, Sophia decides to throw a living wake for herself. Hilarity naturally ensues.

And while the performances were rock solid, the laughs constant and uncontrollable, and the costumes justly fabulous, the real magic of the show was the audience.

christmasballsgoldengirls_smThe crowd packed every seat of the cozy 500-seat Victoria Theater in the Mission District, painting a picture of something that’s not always easy to find — a real community. Straight, gay (OK, mostly gay), young and old all shuffled in with the only clear intention being to have a damn good time.

Between scenes, pianist Tom Shaw played Christmas classics, and without fail, the audience burst into impromptu singalongs each time, belting out the words to Rudolph and White Christmas like it was the first chance they’d ever had to sing them.

It’s the fans who’ve made the event what it is, supporting the show since its 2006 inception in the front parlor of a Victorian Mansion in the Western Addition through increasingly larger venues.

And it’s never too late to jump on the bandwagon. Last year every show sold out, and this year won’t be any different. But you’ve still got time to get last minute tickets — the show runs Thurs-Sun through December 21st.

If you’re tired of the same old holiday mush, get your ass in one of those seats and pass the cheesecake.

The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes runs through Dec. 21 at the Victoria Theater and stars Pollo Del Mar (Rose), Cookie Dough (Sophia), Heklina (Dorothy) & Matthew Martin ­(Blanche). For tickets, click here.

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