Some folks may be dreaming of a white Christmas, but we'd be happy enough here with a wet Christmas, thank you very much. Just hold off on the deluge, if you would, until we've finished our holiday theatergoing. We only have so many umbrellas to leave behind under the seat in the rush up the aisle.
This year's theatrical holiday roster is not quite the deluge it has been in past years, at least not in the slightly bent fashion we favor here, but still plenty enough to make spirits bright through the season. Here is a selected list of ways to tickle your fancy as the year draws to a close, including several newcomers as well as a flock of perennials.
You can certainly count on Christmas episodes from The Golden Girls as among the perennials, but two of the four title characters are cast with newcomers to the show. Cookie Dough, who had played Sophia Petrillo since these drag caricatures of the TV series began in 2006, died earlier this year, and Holotta Tymes has taken over the role created by Estelle Getty. Additionally, Pollo del Mar, the longtime portrayer of Rose, has left the cast, with D'Arcy Drollinger moving into the Betty White role. The indomitable Heklina continues in the Bea Arthur role of Dorothy, and Matthew Martin carries on where Rue McClanahan left off as Blanche.
Martin is also directing the production, made up of two episodes from the series: Dorothy's New Friend, in which a haughty newcomer rubs Dorothy's housemates the wrong way; and The Accurate Reception, with Blanche's daughter's announcement that she plans to become pregnant through artificial insemination. Performances are again at the Victoria Theatre, continuing through Dec. 20. Tickets at goldengirlschristmas.eventbrite.com.
Heklina and Drollinger are also partners in the still-young nightclub Oasis, where one holiday tradition finds a new home and another attraction may be laying down first roots. Connie Champagne again becomes Judy Garland in Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, a collections of songs, holiday-themed and otherwise, that Garland both did sing and never got the chance to perform. The single performance is on Dec. 19.
Down Under drag star Courtney Act debuts From Head to Mistletoe at Oasis on Dec. 13-14. The creation of Australian native Shane Jenek, Courtney Act was a contender on Australian Idol, auditioning on successive nights in male and female guise; a finalist on RuPaul's Drag Race; and was the first drag artist to sing with the SF Symphony, in a 2014 concert starring Cheyenne Jackson. Ticket info at sfoasis.com.
Over at Feinstein's at the Nikko, J. Conrad Frank returns as his royal Russian counterpart in Katya �" A Holiday Spectacular! on Dec. 16-17. Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, a countess now in reduced circumstances, sings, banters, reminisces, and downs a shot or three of her favorite clear beverage. Tickets at hotelnikkosf.com.
While you can see ACT's A Christmas Carol at the Geary Theatre, the musical Scrooge in Love! at the Eureka Theatre, and the touring A Christmas Story at the Orpheum Theatre, you can catch Not Another Holiday Show at Brava Theater Center on Dec. 20. Created by San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company, the revue pays tribute to TV variety shows of yore while thrusting them into the world of Facebook, Twitter, and texting. Tickets at brava.org.
Two musicals that have little or nothing to do with the holidays are being revived by theaters as holiday-applicable attractions. It's the third annual go-round for Avenue Q at New Conservatory Theatre Center, where the musical about puppets with grownup problems runs through Jan. 17. (Tickets at nctcsf.org.) At the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto, TheatreWorks is reviving Emma through Dec. 17. TheatreWorks presented the world premiere of the musical adaptation of Jane Austen's novel in 2007. (Tickets at theatreworks.org.)
The Curran Theatre's Under Construction series, which has dealt mainly with adult fare up to now, goes for a broader demographic with its holiday-timed offering of Story Pirates' Greatest Hits Show. Running Dec. 12-20 at the Curran, where performers and audiences currently share the stage, the show is a musical sketch-comedy performed by professional improvisers and musicians, based entirely on stories written by elementary school students from across the country, with one new locally produced story each night. Tickets at sfcurran.com.
Mittens and Mistletoe: A Winter Circus Cabaret makes its sixth seasonal appearance on Dec. 18-27 at Dance Mission Theater. Created by Sweet Can Productions, and directed by the clown duo Coventry & Kaluza, the production features circus artists, comedians, acrobats, and musicians from the Bay Area and various points across the globe. The 2015 engagement will also include the show's first-ever adults-only performance on Dec. 26. Tickets at wsweetcanproductions.com.
And you know it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas when Kung Pao Kosher Comedy announces the lineup for its annual Jewish alternative to Yule logs and wassailing. Stand-up veteran and frequent TV performer Wendy Liebman headlines the Dec. 23-26 shows, which also feature Dana Eagle, Mike Fine, and producer-emcee Lisa Geduldig. There are dinner shows and cocktail shows each night at the New Asia Restaurant. Tickets at koshercomedy.com.