This is Drama Masks, a Bay Area performing arts column from a born San Franciscan and longtime theatre artist in an N95 mask. I talk venue safety and dramatic substance, or the lack thereof.
As I write this, I have SomaFM’s “Jolly Ol’ Soul” channel playing in the background. The local indie radio network starts broadcasting its Christmas channels soon after Halloween, because why wait ‘til Black Friday when the entire economy is already geared up for the big day beyond it? As much as my cynical, anti-capitalist heart cringes at yuletide omnipresence every year, it’s hard to hate on SomaFM’s carefully-curated collection of holiday tunes. (I’m also fond of the “Xmas in Frisco” channel, which takes something of a South Park approach to its programming.)
Even without that cynicism, I’m willing to admit that even I can find some solace in the season. More importantly, I recognize the need for it after this shitty year. This time last year, we were all still suffering from the PTSD of the election and trying to prep ourselves for all the worst possible scenarios. Do-nothing Democrats had failed to act or put in safeguards that would derail the rise of fascism, but at least there were some institutions in place that they were happy to stand beside. Now, oligarchs say all the quiet parts loud, armed troops on US streets are a normal sight, and so many stupid events have occurred over the past 12 months (“Gulf of America”, promotion of asbestos, theft of Social Security Numbers, the literal destruction of the White House) that they’ve all begun to blur together.
If you get even the briefest relief by viewing cats and dogs frolicking in the Macy’s windows, I won’t hold it against you.
Personally, I was hoping that by now I’d be comparing various productions of A Christmas Carol to make a personal NCAA-style ranking system to determine which Scrooge ruled above all. Instead, more than half the companies have gone under, several others have cancelled their Christmas shows, and I’m too broke to travel anyway.
That’s why I take a small comfort in knowing that the few shows I actually am booked to see all seem to offer the sort of reprieve that one desperately needs. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Joy is an act of rebellion. Embrace that joy the way horrible people embrace hate. The fact that they’re publicly tearing themselves apart further proves that we’ll still be around after they are forgotten.
Now, let’s talk about a drag show…
The Golden Girls Live! The Christmas Episodes at The Curran
It was just two months ago when I saw another longtime D’Arcy Drollinger production based on a popular show from decades past. (That one was “Rocky Horror.”) As with this one, the long history of the show carried through every line and where the importance of the production itself felt even heavier in a more openly-anti-queer world. Both shows went on under the dark cloud that is the looming closure of D’Arcy’s club, Oasis. The current show carries that burden all the more, as both this show and Oasis itself were labors of love co-created by D’Arcy and the late Heklina.
With that dreary lead-in, I’m happy to say that The Golden Girls Live! The Christmas Episodes (through December 21 at The Curran Theatre, SF) is just as hilarious as it’s ever been. Sure, a portion of that has to do with the enduring quality of the writing on the namesake sitcom, but it’s equally attributable to Drollinger’s direction and the spot-on cast he’s assembled. When Matthew Martin milks every on-stage entry as sexpot Blanche Devereaux, it’s earned and goaded on by the audience. It the sort of moment that combines drag’s irreverence for gender norms with the sitcom’s embrace of sex-positivity well into one’s twilight years. It’s the perfect combination of pop-culture staple and greater cultural enlightenment that makes the show work so well, when this production would have been a tough sell during the sitcom’s original run.
What’s more, the Curran adds another layer of historical significance that enhances the experience. Not only is it one of SF’s most treasured classic theaters (parts of All About Eve was filmed here), but it’s always made itself a welcome home for fan-favorite material: it hosted Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom for five straight years; it was the pre-pandemic home for that wizard-boy show (created by She Who Must Not Be Named); and its pre-BroadwaySF re-opening hosted unique experiences from the likes of Courtney Love and Taylor Mac. That’s the perfect place to sit among an audience that will hoot and holler at the slightest innuendo and sing along to every classic holiday tune played by Tom Shaw during scene transitions.
It’s also a theater with a pretty good HVAC, as the opening night show saw CO² readings on my Aranet4 go no higher than 942ppm during the two-act show.
Last year’s production was blessed with the pleasant surprise of singer Cindy Fee coming for a theatre-wide sing-along of the theme song. Fee returned this year for the opening weekend shows, and it was truly the cherry atop a great show. Both the original sitcom and D’Arcy’s show act as old friends whose presence is welcome now this year more than ever. If any show has acted as a safe space from the madness of the world (and the season), this one is it.
THE GOLDEN GIRLS LIVE! THE CHRISTMAS EPISODES runs through December 21 at The Curran Theatre, SF. Tickets and further info here.
Amalia y la vida de las cosas US premiere by La Lengua
I’m not quite sure what I expected from Amalia y la vida de las cosas (US premiere through December 14 at Theater 33, SF), but it wasn’t a fairy tale. The description on La Legua’s website vaguely described coming-of-age goings-on with social media probably playing some kind of role, but I wasn’t expecting a full-fledged Latine take in the Narnia/ Wonderland/ OZ mold.
The eponymous Amalia (a delightful Florinda Hershey) is the very sort of eccentric woman you’d expect to live alone in an old house in a story like this. Naturally, that house is full of magic. Her grand-daughter Martina (Montserrat Nava) is on her way to visit for the weekend. Little does Amalia know, Martina’s been sent there by her parents to talk Amalia into moving out so they can sell the house. Martina does what she’s told, but when she and Amalia’s mutual love of film-making is discovered, awakening childhood memories the young girl had put away in favor of smart devices, it becomes a lot harder to evict someone with literal magic in their hands.
I’m guessing the original production of this show was a much more lavish affair, as one of the few flaws of this show is that they’re clearly limited in their presentation of the more supernatural elements at times. These moment aren’t failures (in fact, a moment where narrator Dany Benitez “floats” an item is funny), but one can occasionally see budgetary constraints at work. Still, Amalia’s love for the craft of film (the celluloid devices littered amongst the set eventually drive the story) and Martina’s lack of cynicism make them an appealing pair to watch during the show’s hourlong runtime.
What’s more, the story knows the conventions of the genre, but doesn’t pander so much as give them a cultural remix that makes them feel fresh. English-speaking kids may not follow all the subtitles as fast, but an audience consisting mainly of kids wouldn’t feel out of place for this show.
CO² levels topped 1,037ppm during the show’s hour. It’s nice that the show was relatively safe and that it didn’t overstay its welcome. With La Lengua’s regular home of Brava! fighting to not be another SF theatre lost, it’s great to see that the company itself still delivers with enjoyable shows.
AMALIA Y LA VIDA DE LAS COSAS runs through December 14 at Theater 33, SF. Tickets and further info here.
