Drag Yourself to the Theater for Cross-Dressing Fun With ‘The Golden Girls’ and the ‘Scooby Doo’ Gang: Review

Marc Vitali | October 18, 2024, 5:10 pm

“The Golden Girls Meet the Skooby Don’t Gang: The Mystery of the Haunted Bush” from Hell in a Handbag Productions runs through Nov. 3. (Credit: Rick Aguilar Studios)

Intensity, conflict and introspection are at the heart of many fine plays, but for a good time call Hell in a Handbag Productions.

“The Golden Girls Meet the Skooby Don’t Gang: The Mystery of the Haunted Bush” is the name of their latest parody, an affectionate and campy homage to cultural touchstones from TV land.

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For 23 years and through more than 80 productions, Hell in a Handbag has brought slightly raunchy but good-humored fun to a variety of stages. They’ve dragged themselves from the tiny space in Mary’s Attic to the mainstage at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St.

They’ve lovingly parodied the Golden Girls for years now. Same with the Skooby Don’t Gang (it’s fair to presume that they tweak the name to avoid a cease-and-desist letter from Hanna-Barbera… or whoever owns the company now).

The mystery here isn’t going to rival Sherlock Holmes, and Miss Marple won’t feel threatened professionally. Actually, I forget what the mystery was – something about a haunted bush, which may have been a tree. Whatever it was, it was definitely an excuse for naughty jokes to the point where one character asks, “How much more mileage are we going to try to get out of that one?”

Eleven cast members wear lovingly re-created costumes from the respective TV series – and most performers are in drag. It’s high camp with loads of low humor.

The cast is all-in. One standout is Tyler Anthony Smith who plays Fred from the Mystery Gang, complete with orange ascot. Smith is seemingly clueless as he bends over and sticks his butt toward whoever is near him. Naturally, everyone checks out his ascot.

Also a hoot is Danne W. Taylor as Nancy Drew. Yes, Nancy Drew makes an appearance, and she is somehow older than any of the Golden Girls. The sight of Taylor’s skinny legs under the skirt of the girl detective is alone worth the price of admission.

“The Golden Girls Meet the Skooby Don’t Gang: The Mystery of the Haunted Bush” from Hell in a Handbag Productions runs through Nov. 3. (Credit: Rick Aguilar Studios)

Hell in a Handbag Productions is the bastard brainchild of David Cerda, a playwright, performer and member of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. Cerda also portrays Dorothy from “The Golden Girls” with a droll sense of timing that would make Bea Arthur beam.

David Cerda’s latest show might best be appreciated by baby boomers, Gen Xers and frequent viewers of MeTV – people who’d get the references to “Gilligan’s Island” and game shows of yesteryear.

But ultimately it doesn’t matter – I’d only seen “The Golden Girls” a couple of times. Of course, I went straight home and dialed up an episode – the one where the girls are mistakenly arrested as prostitutes and don’t get to meet Burt Reynolds.

This messy mystery also includes sing-alongs and breaks for Golden Girls trivia. And there’s a costume switcheroo in the second act that’s a blast, plus a one-finger salute to Pat Sajak that comes out of left field but somehow fits right in.

So if you’re looking for absurdity, a dose of nostalgia, and belly laughs at some inappropriate jokes, this mystery is worth figuring out, even if it makes no sense.

Perhaps especially because it makes no sense.

The show runs through Nov. 3, for show times and tickets visit handbagproductions.org.