Since the birth of television, there have been certain staples
to the sitcom. “Special episodes,” if you will, that indicate
you are getting more in this half-hour than just your regular
weekly fare.
You have your “with special guest star...”
featuring a movie star slumming it on TV
to push their next project, your “in a very
special episode of...” which took the lighthearted
situational comedy and added serious
social issues and, of course, you have the
annual holiday special.
After the success of “The Golden Gals
Live!”—very special episodes of the classic
80s sitcom “The Golden Girls” performed
by special guest stars Gidget Galore, Divine
Grace, MrMs Adrien and Ginger Minj as the
titular girls—it was just a matter of time
before we got “A Christmas Musical!”
“The Golden Gals - A Christmas Musical”
follows the same format as the wildly popular
“The Golden Gals Live!” that played the
Parliament House earlier this year.
“We took a few classic gay-themed
episodes of ‘The Golden Girls’ and recreated
them true to how they were but they were
turned up a notch,” says Doug Ba’aser, who
performed in multiple roles in “The Golden
Gals Live!” and will portray several roles in
the musical. “So Blanche is even sluttier
and Rose is even stupider. It’s light-hearted
fun, everything you expect from each of the
characters and their relationship.”
“The Golden Gals” sex-crazed, southern
belle Blanche is played by “RuPaul’s Drag
Race” alum and local legend Ginger Minj.
“Blanche has always been the epitome of
glamour and sex appeal to me,” Ginger says.
“By typical beauty standards she shouldn’t
have become such a sex symbol ... She was
more girl-next-door than bombshell. But she
had this unwavering confidence and swagger
that made you celebrate her flaws instead of
nit-picking them. She is the true definition
of southern fried sass!”
Ginger got together with friend and fellow
legend Gidget Galore, who plays the dumb but
lovable Rose, to put the show together.
“I like how naïve Rose is and that almost
child-like innocence she has,” Gidget says. “I
love her jokes, I love her stories and it’s fun
to get to play the airhead of the group.”
Ginger and Gidget knew there was only
one person who could step into the large,
sensible flats of comedy legend Bea Arthur—
who originated the strong and sarcastic
leader of the girls, Dorothy— the one and
only, Divine Grace.
“I have seen every episode of ‘The Golden
Girls’ a hundred times since the 1900’s, but
it’s only been recently that I realized how
many of Bea Arthur’s mannerisms I have
adopted and incorporated into my own act,”
Divine says. “She was a real comic genius
who had show business all over that resting
bitch face. I’m so lucky I was asked to take on
this role.”
The tight-knit trio is joined in the house
by Dorothy’s elderly, wisecracking mother
Sophia. Sophia, the oldest of the characters,
is actually played by the youngest of the
performers, MrMs Adrien.
“Sophia’s always been my favorite
character on the show. She’s so strong,
so sharp and nobody can top her classic
one-liners. Playing this iconic 81-year-old
at 25 is everything I love about drag and
acting combined,” Adrien says.
Like the first show, “The Golden Gals
- A Christmas Musical” will re-create two
episodes from the original “Golden Girls”
sitcom, but unlike last time this show will
take some liberties with the dialogue.
“This show is more loosely based on those
episodes,” says Ba’aser. “We brought in some
things from the Christmas episodes, wrote
some extra stuff, added classic Christmas
songs and turned it into a festive musical.”
The show promises to be a fun-filled
adventure, and it wouldn’t be the holiday
season without a Christmas surprise as well.
“‘Golden Gals Live!’ has always been a
small piece of a much larger puzzle that
Gidget and I have been working towards,”
Ginger says. “Were planning a big
announcement at the Christmas show, so
keep your eyes and ears peeled!”
“The Golden Gals - A Christmas Musical” plays
at the Parliament House Dec. 19-23. Tickets are
$25 for general admission and $50 for VIP. For
more information, visit ParliamentHouse.com.
Caroling
with the Gals
T Golden Gals are back with an all-new
christmas musical
J E R E M Y W I L L I A M S
11 Wat e r m a r k ’ s H o l i d ay G i f t G u i d e 2 0 1 9
/ParliamentHouse.com
