Mission Mission

There’s a new LGBTQ space in town, hallelujah. Brittany & Katie checked it out, here’s their report:

We have been hearing a lot about gay bars closing (Most recently The Lexington and Esta Noche) as well as a lot about the lack of mid-size performance venues. Well, we have some good news! A gay bar that is also a performance venue has just opened. It’s called Oasis and it’s a new 6,000 square foot theater / cabaret / nightclub hosted by Heklina and D’Arcy Drollinger located on Folsom Street in the SOMA district. We first got wind of this from D’Arcy himself when we interviewed him about his last show back in June, so we were very excited to check out his new show Shit & Champagne: A Whitesploitation Comedy with Dance at his new venue.

Katie: The venue is great and being there on opening night of their first performance at the venue was so fun. The energy and excitement around it all felt really special, you could feel how important it was for the people who were there.

Brittany: Yeah, the venue was amazing. Loved the cabaret style seating and the table service. It was really fun.

K: It was also refreshing to go to a show that was interactive and casual but still a formal scripted play, you really felt part of it. The thing is, it was too . . . what’s the word?

B: Campy.

K: Yes! And I’m just not a campy girl. Never been a campy, slap sticky, Austin Powers, poop humor, kind of girl.

B: Looking at the trailer for this, it’s campy as hell. It’s meant to be tongue and cheek slap stick and it delivered on that. That doesn’t mean it’s a great piece of theater. But everyone there was having a great time. There were moments I was laughing and there were performances I thought were great. D’Arcy (who wrote, directed and starred in the show) is just a delightful person. And when he’s onstage you can’t help but like him and enjoy watching him even if you don’t really follow what’s going on.

K: Maybe what could have helped us follow it better is having a couple of drinks before the show . . .

The Verdict:

The Venue: Awesome. If you don’t check out this show definitely go and check out their wide array of entertainment.

The Show: It’s drag meets the Three Stooges meets Austin Powers. Lots of really pun-ny sex jokes and cheap digs. Some of it was smart and clever, but you have to like camp.

The Drama Talk: Not great writing…maybe it’s really good writing for a campy, sexploitation, white comedy, drag show…but its not a traditional play. So don’t expect a play with a well developed plot or deep characters.

The Drinks: The Oasis has two bars as well as table service, so getting drinks is very easy. The drinks were basic, but good and well priced. We suggest getting there a little early and having one or two before the show starts.

Shit & Champagne runs through February 14th at Oasis and tickets are available at the website. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. There are also a limited amount of tickets available on Goldstar for $12.50.

Katie & Brittany are back just in time to review a true holiday classic, Golden Girls Christmas episodes performed live and in drag. If you ask me, that Sophia below looks pretty amazing. Here’s their report:

Haul out the holly and tack up the tinsel, Christmas has come to the Mission. When we agreed to check out the opening weekend of The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes we had no idea what a following this show had. We arrived at the Victoria Theater to a line stretching almost to Mission Street of people hoping to snag a seat to the sold out show. Once inside the theater we were welcomed by a beautiful drag queen who offered us peach fizz shots. The merriness was palpable. The lights went down, the Golden Girls Theme song began, and the audience burst into song. We now know why everyone is going gaga for the Golden Girls.

Katie: If you like the Golden Girls you are going to fucking love this because those four drag queens nailed it! What an entertaining and fun show. The secondary actors should have been better, but what can you do.

Brittany: The ladies’ timing was remarkable. At first I was a little bit worried – were they going to honor the Golden Girls? Or were they going to make it too corny? I was pleasantly surprised that they found a perfect balance of the two. There were some missed opportunities, but overall a really fun night.

K: Yeah, it would have been great to actually see the commercials they played in between scenes and not just hear the audio. It would have been awesome if they were projected, or better yet if they had reenacted the commercials. That would have really upped the production value.

B: So true! They really captured the holiday spirit though, right down to the shopping frenzy. The audience was having a great time, it was full of Christmas sparkle.

K: And so much glitter, such great costumes. The gaudy Christmas sweaters and brooches, ahh so good.

B: At the end when the actresses came out to give the birthday people in the audience a lap dance the man sitting next to me turned to me and said “This is the strangest thing I have seen in my life”. I don’t know if I agree with that, but you sure don’t get to see a 90-year-old get a birthday lap dance from a drag queen dressed as Blanche everyday.

The Verdict: This is exactly how San Francisco brings in the holiday cheer. Drinking, drag queens, and reenacted Christmas specials from an ’80s TV show, what’s not to like? If you enjoy the Golden Girls you will definitely love this drag queen tribute.

The Drama Talk: The length was great. They did two episodes, with an intermission, in under two hours. This show is POPULAR, so be sure to get your tickets early, and get to the theater early. We were lucky and had seats Orchestra level. The balcony at The Victoria is steep, and far less comfortable, so get to the theater early to grab some seats and shots before the show.

The Drinks: The only way to cap off a night of drag queens in the Mission is with more drag queens, obviously. We headed over to Esta Noche for some post-show cocktails. We were not the only show-goers who thought this way, and there was quite the crowd who paid the $5 cover to keep the fun going. We got some margaritas and settled in for the 11:30pm drag show. Another successful evening of drama talk and drinks.

The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes shows at the Victoria Theater on 16th Street and Capp, and runs Thurs-Sun until December 22nd, so you only have two more weekends to check out this show. Tickets are $30 (involving a two part purchase with $15 going over Eventbrite and $15 at the door- don’t ask us why) and can be reserved online.