Melodrama: 1. a dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and that exaggerates emotion and emphasizes plot or action at the expense of characterization. 2. (in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries) a romantic dramatic composition with music interspersed.
Raymond Hull's The Drunkard's Revenge is a classic audience participatory melodrama as performed on the North Park Vaudeville's stage. Up front you are requested (or is that required) to boo the villain, rally for the hero, swoon over the lovely lady...well, you get the idea.
The play is set in the last temperance hotel in San Francisco fighting the onslaught of (gasp) booze! The proprietor, Edward Middleton (John Fojtik), is a cheap penny-pincher, literally. His son Stanley (Merlin Troy) is departing on a prospecting adventure in the gold fields, with the family savings. Prudence Lovejoy (Toya Davis) is the hotel maid and a love interest of the Middletons. Lucilla Sipwell (Summer Golden) is the local temperance guru with a dark secret. Uriah Lushmore (Terrence John) is the villainous purveyor of an alcohol-laced tonic. Simply looking at the names of the characters reveals their true nature.
Melodrama offers the tyro actor a chance to get into theater, conquer their fear of the stage, and begin the long progress towards excellence in acting. Merlin Troy is just such an example. This is his first time on stage. He hams it up delightfully as he woos the lovely Ms. Lovejoy. Merlin Troy's Edward Middleton struts through his role as a former drunkard. Summer Golden's Ms. Sipwell, temperance queen, is unbearably haughty, which contrasts nicely with the eventually revealed true character of Ms. Sipwell.
Terence John's arch-villain Uriah Lushmore mocks all the other characters in the play as well as the audience. He is a true cape-whipping dastardly sort with nary a good bone in his body. Ms. Lovejoy (Toya Davis) not only steals the heart of Stanley but captivates the audience as well. Davis gives an excellent performance.
Director Mark Anthony has taken a group of relatively new thespians and brought his audience a fun evening. Along with some fluffs and flaws come nice theatrical touches. For example, melodrama uses many asides to the audience. Anthony generally freezes the other players on the stage. His slow-motion staging of a second-act fight scene also works. His use of the auditorium for one scene adds helpful intimacy.
Producer Jeff Bushnell also designed and operated lights and sound. His thematic music works well, too.
The Drunkard's Revenge provides a fun evening that the kids will love. The children in the audience boo the villain, cheer on the hero, and respond with gusto.
