Coco Peru Joins the Golden Girls Live Cast This Year
The Golden Girls: The Holiday Episodes
25 Performances – Limited Engagement!
Nov. 30 – Dec. 23, 2023
Thurs. Fri. & Sat. 8:00pm, Sun. 7:00pm
Saturday Matinees Dec. 9, 16, at 3pm
Sunday Matinees Dec. 3, 10, 17 at 2pm
Victoria Theatre
2961 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103
San Francisco, CA – Now in it’s 18th year, The eagerly-awaited San Francisco tradition, The Golden Girls Live: The Holiday Episodes, will return to the Victoria Theater, Opening November 30th. Directed by D’Arcy Drollinger
Heklina, who played Dorothy Zbornak since the iteration of the production in 2006, passed away in April of this year. The cast and crew are honored to announce the legendary Coco Peru will be stepping in to perform as Dorothy in this year’s run!
“Losing Heklina was a huge blow to the community and to myself”, says Drollinger. “She was my producing partner and a friend for over thirty years. We had all decided years ago that this show was too important to ever let go. In the spirit of keep the show and Heklina’s legacy alive; and after much consideration, we asked Coco Peru to join the cast. I was thrilled when she said yes.”
"Although her shoes can never be filled, I'm honored to step in for my good friend and drag sister, Heklina, in the role of Dorothy Zbornak,” Says Coco. “I believe with all my heart that Heklina would give me her blessing, and then call me a "cu*t!”
Take four drag legends, cast them in two parody Xmas episodes of the uproarious TV show: THE GOLDEN GIRLS, and you have the perfect holiday event for the entire family! This drag send-up and heart-felt tribute to the characters the entire world has come to know and love, features Coco Peru (Dorothy), Matthew Martin (Blanche), D’Arcy Drollinger (Rose), and Holotta Tymes (Sophia). Also featuring Manuel Caneri and Tom Shaw on the piano.
Shows are at The Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St. (btwn. Mission & Capp Sts.) SF, CA 94103. Tickets will go on sale Tuesday August 22nd.
History of The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes
The Golden Girls: Live on stage in SF started performances in 2006 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 has enjoyed many great years to sold out houses.
The Golden Girls TV shows (which began airing 30 years ago) is an American sitcom, created by Susan Harris, that originally aired on NBC from Sept. 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. It starred veteran TV actors Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty. The Golden Girls received critical acclaim throughout most of its run and won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series twice. It also won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Each of the 4 stars received an Emmy Award (from multiple nominations during the series' run), making it one of only 3 sitcoms in the award's history to achieve this. The series also ranked among the 10 ten highest-rated programs for 6 out of its 7 seasons. In 2014, the Writers Guild Of America placed the sitcom at No. 69 in their list of the "101 Best Written TV Series Of All Time”.
This year’s episodes to be announced.
Cast Bios:
Miss Coco Peru (Dorothy) has been a household name in the LGBTQ+ community for over 30 years. Coco got her start in the early 90's as a downtown favorite in NYC’s cabaret world. Since then, Coco has received worldwide acclaim for her award-winning solo shows and has enjoyed an expansive career in film, television, and digital work.TV: Dead- Paranormal Park (Netflix) Will and Grace (recurring role), How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development and two stand-up comedy specials on LOGO. Film: trick, To Wong Foo… and the cult classic Girls Will Be Girls. Digital: Madame Coco Knows (Logo), Casa Coco (a monthly streaming show during covid lockdown) and her YouTube videos with over 13 million views.
D’Arcy Drollinger (Rose) is the appointed San Francisco Drag Laureate, the first ever position of its kind in the world. D’Arcy is an actor, writer, director, choreographer, producer and entrepreneur. Drollinger is the owner and artistic director of OASIS, voted San Francisco's best nightclub/cabaret. D’Arcy has written over a dozen original works, including: Bitch Slap, Temple of Poon and Disastrous, as well as the web series Hot Trash. Drollinger’s first feature film, Shit & Champagne, became an instant cult classic and is now streaming on Hulu. D’Arcy is the executive director of San Francisco-based nonprofit, Oasis Arts, dedicated to providing access and resources to LGBTQIA+ artists. Other credits include: The Producers (first Broadway production), and Hairspray the Musical (first Broadway production). Drollinger is the creator of Sexitude™, the body-positive, age-positive, sex-positive dance experience based in San Francisco.
Matthew Martin (Blanche), a native San Franciscan, has been conjuring many stars of the Silver Screen for years on stage and screen. He starred as Bette Davis in the film parodies Baby Jane?, Hush Up, Sweet Charlotte and as the nefarious villainess in D’Arcy Drollinger's Sh*t and Champagne, all available on Amazon Prime An actor, singer, dancer, director, choreographer and man of many faces and voices, Matthew recently incarnated Joan Crawford in Michael Phillis' comedy The Hand That Rocks the Crawford at Oasis in San Francisco. Matthew has brought Katharine Hepburn, Judy Garland, Ann Miller, Jane Russell, Susan Hayward, Peggy Lee, Eartha Kitt, Mitzi Gaynor and many other stars to life on stage and screen in Marc Huestis' productions at the Castro Theater and appeared in multiple productions at Theater Rhino with John Fisher. As Blanche Devereaux, he has loved working with his good friends in The Golden Girls since 2007.
Holotta Tymes (Sophia), a female impersonator with a career spanning almost 30 years cross crossing the country professionally in many large shows including as the comedy star of the world famous finocchios in the 90s until it’s closing in 1999, a north beach main stay for 83 years and the longest running female impersonation show in the world. An entrepreneur, she has branched out into several businesses, including owning her own nightclub, club 1220 in Walnut Creek. Holotta started her career, young, working in theater, both on stage, touring as well as writing, directing. Her credits include voice over work for animated cartoons and commercials. In her teens, she wrote and directed an all male comedy version of Romeo and Juliet called “me and Juliet” she toured for many years in the shows title role of Juliet. Between her love of theater, family, and her beloved yorkies, she finds time to raise funds for the San Francisco aids foundation and the LA gay and lesbian center, proudly an eight time lifecycle rider! Hello riders, hello roadies!
Thank You for Being a Friend!
