“The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes – Holiday Edition” by David Cerda is running through December 28 in the Cabaret at the Alleyway Theatre.

The show is based on the long running sitcom which starred Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan as seniors who share a home in Miami, Florida – becoming each other’s emotional support in their “golden” years of life. The show’s theme song was “Thank You For Being a Friend.”

The sitcom frequently used double entendres – usually flung at Rue McClanahan’s man crazy character, Blanche. The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes – Holiday Edition goes way beyond double entendres. This show is downright raunchy – definitely for an adults only crowd. The audience enjoyed it, and there were laughs and shrieks throughout the evening.

In reference to the audience, I was expecting the usual folks who go to see the Summer Camp BUA drag productions. Instead, the opening night audience was 98% female baby boomers – many of whom were ardent Golden Girls fans. And they got the opportunity to test their Golden Girls know-how in the audience participation quiz show segments of the evening which were fun for everyone. Incidentally, wine and beer are sold right in the theatre and this also contributed to the party atmosphere of the production.

Director Todd Warfield has kept things big, bright, and bouncy and his costumes are creative and colorful and certainly in keeping with the characters. 

Guy Tomassi stars as Dorothy, the Bea Arthur character, and he has mastered her mannerisms and facial expressions. Mr. Tomassi speaks the dialogue in basso profundo tones that are even deeper than Ms. Arthur’s. It’s an amusing performance that doesn’t go over the top.

Joey Bucheker is delightful as Rose, the goofy, naive transplant from Minnesota who was played by Betty White on TV. Mr. Bucheker is known around town for another drag role, the vibrant Betsy Carmichael, and it’s to his credit that his Rose is nothing like his Betsy. He is a performer with range!

Blanche, the libidinous Golden Girl, is played with great verve by Michael Blasdell, and Jessica K. Rasp gets a lot of laughs as the sarcastic Sophia, Dorothy’s mom from Sicily. Rounding out the cast are Tim Goehrig and A. Peter Snodgrass both of whom play multiple roles. I liked them best as MC’s and quiz show hosts where they proved that they are comfortable with improv and audience interaction.

The production includes sitcom music and TV commercials. And, speaking of commercials, here’s a warning to any audience members sitting in the front row – you may find yourself in the splash zone!

The show is dedicated to long time Buffalo actor Timothy Patrick Finnegan who was cast as Sophia but passed away this fall. Mr. Finnegan appeared in many shows at the Alleyway and many BUA productions and the theatre community mourns and misses him.

“The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes – Holiday Edition” is a wild and zany production with ribald humor. The audience enjoyed the holiday hijinks and gave the show an enthusiastic standing ovation.

The production runs 90 minutes which includes a 15 minute intermission.

‘The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes – Holiday Edition is presented at the Cabaret at Alleyway Theatre until December 28, 2019. For more information, click here.