By Denny Patterson
As seen on CNN, Off-Broadway, and the Golden Fans at Sea Cruises, The Golden Gays NYC (GGNYC) have quickly emerged as the premier Golden Girls show in the country.
Starring Jason B. Schmidt as Dorothy, Gerry Mastrolia as Rose, and Andy Crosten as Blanche, this drag trio first burst onto the scene in 2017 after making an appearance at RuPaul’s DragCon NYC, then at the fame Rue La Rue Cafe, where their trivia show went viral. Since then, they have performed sold-out engagements with their hit shows Hot Flashbacks, The Golden Games, and Thank YULE for Being a Friend, which will play at Island City Stage December 8-18, 2021.
A musical adventure, their productions consist of live singing and dancing, along with hilarious sketches from the television show’s most memorable moments. Audiences cannot resist spending time with these fabulous gals, and who wouldn’t want to see them spread some holiday cheer? Picture it!
The troupe took some time to answer some questions for OutClique Magazine.
Denny Patterson: Thank you all for taking some time to chat with me! Can you begin by telling us how The Golden Gays NYC came to be?
Gerry Mastrolla: Picture it! New York City, 2017. I had just come off of another production playing Rose, and unfortunately, that production fizzled early on. I was still itching to play the role, and being a fan of The Golden Girls since being a little tyke, I had fallen in love with the character. I was Facebook friends with Jason, who I never met in real life before, and I admired what he did as the premier Bea Arthur impersonator. I reached out to him and said, ‘Listen, the new Golden Girls cafe, the Rue La Rue, just opened in upper Manhattan. Let’s go and sing a few numbers, surprise the patrons, and see what happens.’ He then reached out to his gal pal, Andy.
Andy Crosten: He texted me and said something like, ‘Can you do Blanche in drag?’ I thought about it for, like, five seconds and said, ‘Sure!’ I haven’t really done drag before, just some club kid type stuff, and I played Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch a few months before that. I was nervous, but we had a blast.
GM: What started as a little idea grew into something major. We had no idea it would grow into this. We began with a Sophia puppet at that first gig because the Sophia we had scheduled had a last-minute cancellation. We found out soon after that the audience wanted to be a part of it even more, so that’s how we came up with the token Sophia bit.
DP: I was wondering why there wasn’t a Sophia.
Jason Schmidt: It’s you, Denny. You’re the token Sophia. We built it into the show where it’s either like part of a game show where you win the role, or we pluck you out of the audience and just for that moment, you’re the Sophia. After the show, you get a token Sophia picture with us dressed up. You get the glasses, wig, handbag, and you get to be the fourth golden girl. We have built this into everything that we do to make it that much more interactive.
DP: What can you tell us about your upcoming Thank YULE for Being a Friend production that will be at Island City Stage?
GM: Audiences will get a delicious dose of vaudeville, a splash of camp; all blended with holiday cheer with everyone’s favorite golden girl, of course!
JS: It’s a holiday adventure traveling down every Dickensian wormhole imaginable.
DP: Is there a particular moment or scene in the show that is your absolute favorite?
AC: Rose and I have a ridiculous moment with a Dildokenscholongen.
JS: Each of the girls have a Scrooge-like moment in Act II where they have to come to terms with a specific character trait that is not quite serving them – in song!
GM: I get tickled when the girls exchange gifts to one another. It’s hard to not crack up while the audience is laughing so much!
DP: What do you personally look forward to the most about performing this show?
AC: I love the campy bits, as they say in the theatre. It’s one after the other, after the other, after the other. If an audience member happens to miss one, don’t worry. There are 86 more coming your way.
JS: There are a few gags that are so funny, the show literally stops. Sometimes, we even need to gain our composure. It’s very Tim Conway in The Carol Burnett Show.
GM: Each and every show is extremely different, depending on the audience. It keeps us on our toes. I personally live for our Carol Burnett schtick moments because they happen often.
DP: How do you typically spend the holidays?
JS: We spend the holidays doing this show in various places, and then we usually go our separate ways a few days before Christmas. Then we are back together for New Years.
AC: My husband, Mason, and I rotate every other year with our respective families. This year, we will be in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
GM: I am fortunate to be able to celebrate the holidays with my family. We are 100 percent Italian, so there is lots of homemade food, wine, and even singing involved. Loud talking and hand gestures are always served.
DP: There are a couple Christmas episodes of The Golden Girls. Which one is your favorite, and why?
AC: Season two, episode 11. ‘Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas.’ It’s the episode we parody in our show, and it also premiered five days before I was born.
GM: That’s my favorite one as well. Where the airport cancelled all flights out of Miami and the girls spent Christmas Eve at the diner. The Beach Boys play on the jukebox while it begins to snow in Miami!
JS: I love all the Blanche and Santa stuff. Naughty.
DP: What is the best Golden Girls-related gift you have ever received?
AC: An artist from Europe recently sent us custom sketches of each of us both as our boy selves and in drag, which was pretty cool.
JS: At Comic Con this year, someone dropped by and gave a 3D printed design of the girls on Mount Rushmore. It’s amazing!
GM: On the first Golden Fans at Sea cruise, many folks gifted us costumes. I thought that was simply the best.
DP: What does 2022 look like for The Golden Gays NYC?
AC: More golden shenanigans, I’m sure!
JS: We are headlining the Golden Fans at Sea cruise with Flip Phone Events, Dream Vacations, and Celebrity Cruises in January. We will take a little hiatus and then be back in full force with our musical game show for Pride, The Golden Games. We are lining up venues for that tour right now, so if you have friends from Cheboygan to Ontario, and beyond, let us know!
GM: A new beginning, post-COVID, brings a breath of fresh air. Crossing our fingers to expand our shows to the west coast and Canada, and of course, we are always open to TV and film opportunities.
DP: Even though you all burst onto the scene in 2017, you are still relatively new in some ways. What are some long-term goals you would like to achieve?
JS: This year, we premiered a comic book at New York Comic Con, which tells the story of how The Golden Gays came to be. I think there is a story, a show, and a TV series that would follow us around behind the scenes. We always say, ‘Where is the camera crew?’ So, we’ll take some TV money…when it’s time. I think a special engagement Broadway run, similar to the way that Death Drop has played the West End, is definitely in order, and we would love to tour the UK soon.
AC: It seems like both a hundred years ago and yesterday, but we plan to keep on living the dream and making people happy.
GM: Maybe we can even be behind the bar in Andy Cohen’s clubhouse, or be judges on a granny version of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Whatever we do, we will continue to spread the Golden Girls love.
For more information and to stay up-to-date, visit GoldenGaysNYC.com, or follow them on Instagram @thegoldengayny. To purchase tickets for Thank YULE For Being a Friend, playing at Island City Stage December 8-18, 2021, visit IslandCityStage.org.
