THE GOLDEN GIRLS: THE CHRISTMAS EPISODES Returns to the Victoria Theatre, Now thru 12/22

The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes -- 8th Annual All Drag Xmas Exdrag-a-ganza -- will feature all new episodes for 12 performances only this holiday season, today, Dec. 5 - 22, 2013, playing Thurs. Fri. & Sat. at 8:00 pm and Sun. at 7:00 pm at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco. Visit www.trannyshack.com for more information!

When the days get shorter, the thermometer drops, the Xmas sweaters are taken out of mothballs, it can only mean one thing. Its time for the annual appearance of The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes 2013, starring San Francisco's four top drag luminaries, as we ring in the Holiday with, hilarity and heart. The formula is reasonably straightforward. Take 4 talented drag performers, cast them in two classic Xmas episodes of the ground-breaking and uproarious TV show: THE GOLDEN GIRLS, and joviality will ensue.

The four drag stars are playing the characters the entire world has come to know and love are Heklina (Dorothy), Cookie Dough (Sophia), Matthew Martin (Blanche) and Pollo Del Mar (Rose). Laurie Bushman, Manuel Caneri, Peter Griggs and Jordan Wheeler also are featured in the cast.

The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes 2013 is directed by Matthew Martin. Set Design by Nathan Rapport, Lighting design by Joe D'Emilio, Costumes by Landa Lakes & Van Hedwall.

There will be a different celebrity guest each night for the first week only, Dec. 5 - 22, 2013:

Thurs. Dec. 5, 2013 - 8:00 pm Donna Sachet - SF's Drag Hostess with the Mostess!

Fri. Dec. 6, 2013 - 8:00 pm Fernando & Greg - Radio Hosts - Morning Show Radio 99.7 Now

Sat. Dec. 7, 2013 - 8:00 pm Sister Roma - "The Most Photographed Nun In The World"

Sun. Dec. 8, 2013 - 7:00 pm Connor McGuire - Porn Star

For Golden Girls fanatics and aficionados, the two ALL NEW episodes being presented are:

Episode 1 - Rose The Prude / Blanche And The Younger Man

Blanche and Rose go on a double date to the Annual Christmas Dance, Rose hits it off with her date while Blanche gets a dud. Not to let it deter her, Blanche agrees to go on a date with her aerobics instructor, who is considerably younger than she is. Meanwhile, Dorothy and Sophia have a gin rummy marathon while enjoying mother / daughter memories.

Episode 2 - Ladies Of The Evening

Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche win 3 tickets to attend a Holiday Fundraiser / Post Movie-Premiere Party, Hosted by Burt Reynolds, leaving Sophia out of luck. While staying at a beachfront hotel for the occasion, a hitch in their plan occurs when they're mistaken for prostitutes and hauled off to jail

The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes 2013 returns to San Francisco for a limited engagement of 12 performances only! The show plays Dec. 5 - 22, 2013 - Thurs. Fri. & Sat. at 8:00 pm. / Sun at 7:00 pm. The individual performance dates are: Dec. 5, 6, 7, 8, / 12, 13, 14, 15, / 19, 20, 21, 22. Shows are at The Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St. (btwn. Mission & Capp Sts.) SF, CA 94103. Tickets are $30 and are available at http://goldengirlssf.eventbrite.com.

On Opening night of The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes 2013 - Thurs. 12/5/13 8:00 pm we are making it a benefit for AIDS Housing Alliance/SF. AIDS Housing Alliance/SF believes in a world where all people have a safe, decent and affordable home. Toward that vision they prevent homelessness for people with HIV/AIDS by protecting the housing they already have, providing resources to secure new housing, and promoting public policy to expand opportunity for all. Their goal is to become the largest housing services provider and largest employer of people with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco. For each ticket sold for opening night 12/5/13, http://goldengirlssf.eventbrite.com a $5.00 donation will be made to AIDS Housing Alliance/SF. www.ahasf.org

In addition, to make opening night Thurs. 12/5/13 more festive, we are inviting audience members to attend the show wearing a XMAS SWEATER.

The Golden Girls started performances in 2005 in the front parlor of a Victorian Mansion in the Western Addition. The shows quickly became more and more popular with the shows being performed twice annually - for a month every June and for a month each December. As The Golden Girls became more popular, they moved to larger quarters of sold out-runs at Mama Calizo's Voice Factory and then to CounterPULSE. In 2011 the show moved to the 500 seat Victoria Theatre where it will play again for 16 performances only. IN 2011 all 11 shows completely sold out.

CAST BIOS:

Heklina (Dorothy) gained fame as Trannyshack's erstwhile MC, keeping a tight rein on the chaos with her unflappable humor and sparkling wit. She is a premier hostess and DJ for hire around San Francisco, and has graced the Folsom St. Fair, Castro St. Fair, Gay Pride Main Stage, Castro Theater, and Halloween Main Stage, in addition to hosting numerous fundraisers for, among others, PAWS, Project Open Hand, AIDS Housing Alliance, Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic, Bay Positives, Lyric, the AIDS Emergency Fund, the UCSF Positive Health Project, Community United Against Violence, and Marriage Equality. She has been seen on the E! Entertainment Network, NBC's "Trauma" "The Cho Show", VH1, "Playing it Straight", Comedy Central's "The Daily Show", BBC Television's "Around the World in 80 Raves", the Scissor Sister's "Filthy Gorgeous" video, and as a guest on the Jerry Springer and Ricki Lake shows. Her film credits include the festival favorites Baby Jane? and All About Evil. Theater credits include a starring role in the 2006 Theater Rhino production TROG!, and producer and featured actor (in the role of Dorothy Zbornak) in the popular San Francisco Golden Girls plays. She was voted Community Grand Marshal of the 2004 San Francisco GLBTQ Pride Parade, and was the subject of two documentaries in the 2005 Frameline SF Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. In 2009 she won the Pride Creativity Award for outstanding artistic contribution to the LGBT Community. Web site trannyshack.com

Matthew Martin (Blanche), a native San Franciscan, has been conjuring Bette Davis for many years in SF, NYC LA, and London stage productions including Awe About Eve, Hush Up, Sweet Charlotte, Whatever Happened to B.B. Jane?, and The Star. He recently completed the film parody Baby Jane?, starring as Baby Jane Hudson which premiered in SF's Frameline Film Festival and was also recently featured in the documentary Queer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis. He has starred in countless stage productions in San Francisco including Theatre Rhino and multiple productions in town. An actor, singer, dancer, director, choreographer and man of many faces and voices, Matthew has also incarnated Joan Crawford in a stage parody of her last film Trog, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Garland, Ann Miller, Jane Russell, Susan Hayward, Peggy Lee, Eartha Kitt Mitzi Gaynor and many other stars of the Silver Screen. MM Has also had the pleasure of appearing at many Marc Huestis extravaganzas at the Castro TheateR. Martin is keeping Hollywood legends alive and well embodying their essences on many stages. He most recently appeared at the Rrazz Room with his solo show All Singing, All Dancing, All Dead. As Blanche Devereaux, he has loved of working with his good friends in The Golden Girls since 2007.

Pollo Del Mar (Rose) is indispensable in San Francisco's LGBT community, and has acquired the sobriquet "The Queen of San Francisco Media," An award-winning San Francisco drag performer, personality, emcee, magazine cover girl, activist and celebrity journalist, she has shared the stage with gay icons from Lady Gaga to Katy Perry and Cyndi Lauper This is her fifth year portraying the world's favorite St. Olaf native Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls: Live. When not onstage, Pollo's interviews with Hollywood's A-List frequently appear on the cover of GLOSS Magazine, Northern California's premiere LGBT entertainment and lifestyles publication. Her column "The Glamazon Diaries" prints in The San Francisco Bay Times and her work now publishes around the world via Australia's GuideToGay.com. Find Pollo weekly at The Cafe, where she hosts The Castro's popular weekend drag show The GlamaZONE with Pollo Del Mar. Show time is Sun. nights, 9:30 pm.

Cookie Dough (Sophia) is an over-the-top personality and wild antics on stage and screen has made her an overnight sensation 20 years in the making! In the Spring of 2002, the ambitious entertainer launched "Cookie...After Dark." the cabaret show continues at Martuni's lounge in SF. In August 2004, "The Monster Show with Cookie Dough & DJ MC2" was launched in the Heart of the Castro. After nearly a 5 Year run at Harvey's Bar & Restaurant, the show has found a home at the newly remodeled Edge Bar, weekly on Thursdays, it is the Longest Running Drag Show in the Castro. Winning Best Drag Act - Best of the Bay 2006, Playing to sold-out audiences for the past five years, Cookie has co-produced The Golden Girls; amusingly playing the sharp-tongued character Sophia Petrillo. In 2010, Cookie was elected Grand Duchess Of San Francisco. This 38 year old Fundraising Organization fits in with Cookie's kind and giving spirit. Whether it is fundraisers for a wide array of local organizations or nonstop professional gigs, Cookie plans to remain on the stage for a long time to come.

Pictured: Pollo Del Mar (Rose), Heklina (Dorothy), Matthew Martin (Blanche) and seated Cookie Dough (Sophia) in The Golden Girls: "The Christmas Episodes".

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