The Golden Girls Save Xmas A Lost Episodes Parody presented by Hell In A Handbag Productions at Center on Halsted - Hoover-Leppen Theatre

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...It’s funny and raunchy but in director Frankie Leo Bennett’s staging, surprisingly heartwarming, as well. In the roles created on TV by Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, and Betty White, the Golden Girls are played in drag by Cerda (Dorothy), Ryan Oates (Sophia), Grant Drager (Blanche), and Ed Jones (Rose), whose loopily wistful stories about life in her native Saint Olaf, Minnesota, are a high point of the show."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...”The Golden Girls Save Xmas” is a delightful and hilarious production that pays homage to the beloved television series while adding its own unique twist. The show successfully captures the essence of the original characters, bringing them back to life in a new and entertaining way. Because of the Artistic Direction of David Cerda who plays Dorthy, he created another wonderful episode for his anthology of Golden Girls classics. One of the strengths of this parody is its clever writing."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...Hell in a Handbag's latest world premiere is yet another, much-welcome installment of their Golden Girls Lost Episode parodies. The show is funny, festive and filled with wonderfully whacky characters offering plenty of wisecracks, with just a modicum of wisdom. At this time of year, it's always nice when a play not only entertains and makes us laugh, but also offers a heartwarming, meaningful message. And so while it's easy to chuckle and poke fun at the innocence and gullibility of Ed Jones' naive character, Sophia smartly reminds us that, with all the unpleasantness in our world today, "Everyone needs a Rose in their lives.""

Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended

"...This year's Christmas production directed by Frankie Leo Bennett features original cast members David Cerda as Dorothy, Grant Drager as Blanche, Ed Jones as Rose, and Ryan Oates as Sophia as the fearsome geriatric foursome - and they are as spot on as ever in their expert renditions of all four great actresses in the TV show. The fantastic performances from these four original cast members are reason enough for me to keep returning year after year for all of the Golden Girls Handbag shows."

Third Coast Review - Recommended

"...The Golden Girls sitcom is in perpetual rotation on television it seems. It's late at night and sometimes simultaneously on two channels as an alternative to the news. It presaged the now standard comedy format of four women bonded in a friendship that forms a chosen family. Think Living Single, Girlfriends, and Sex and the City but with four mature women living in Miami. Hell in A Handbag Productions is known for spoofing classic melodrama with most of the leading characters played in drag by the Handbag ensemble. The Golden Girls Save Christmas Lost Episode Parody has landed to fill your stocking with laughter and nostalgia."